


Forgotten Memories

by EllePellano



Category: Shaman King (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Past Lives, Repressed Memories, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-09
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 35,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22432639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllePellano/pseuds/EllePellano
Summary: Set a year after Hao's defeat in the anime. Anna wakes up from a recurring dream warning of the fire shaman's possible return and sets out to investigate. A web of forgotten memories about Hao and Anna's past unfolds as an angry soul seeks revenge for its demise. HaoxAnnaxYoh
Relationships: Asakura Hao/Kyouyama Anna, Asakura Yoh/Kyouyama Anna
Kudos: 9





	1. Recurring Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

_The man stared at her with eyes as cold as the chilly wind that was enveloping the place. He was standing just a meter from her but she felt as if he was already drifting away. He was truly beautiful under the moonlight although his eyes were as emotionless as ever._

_"I'm sorry," he murmured._

_She didn't look up from where she was sitting. The words didn't seem to reach her. It's as if she had been deafened by the cries of the child in her arms. She rocked the little infant to make him stop wailing but she herself couldn't keep the hot tears that were beginning to run down her cheeks. He would be leaving them out in the cold for good._

_"I have to go," he slowly turned his back on her, "Sayonara…"_

_"Please don't leave us!" She pleaded to no avail._

_He began walking away from them --- walking out of their lives, without looking back._

* * *

The clock read 5:30 AM. The blond itako stirred in bed. She was silently weeping in her sleep.

"I've been gone too long. I'm coming back for you."

Anna Kyouyama woke up with a start.

_That dream again._

It was the fifth time she had this week. She felt really cold as if she had been in that place just a moment ago.

_It seemed so real._

She remembered clearly the cold eyes, the baby's wails, her soft cries and the familiar voice that whispered to her ear before she woke up. Why was she having this dream? Was it a premonition of a sad future for her and Yoh? She shook the thought away. Yoh can be naïve sometimes but he was not cold-hearted like his twin brother.

_He won't do that to me._

She was completely sure of it.

_I've been gone too long. I'm coming back for you._

She repeated the words a couple of times. Will the fire shaman rise from his grave to make them suffer then?

_No, that's not possible. That man is truly dead._

It had been a year since Hao was put to the afterlife by her fiance. Although she never saw the body, she didn't have any doubts that Yoh had finished him off.

_But the scene felt ancient. It must have been a memory from the past._

If it were, she would find it hard to digest that she was connected to that wicked man in a more personal way. She was crying out for him to come back for Pete's sake. Just the thought of him returning sent shivers running down her spine.

_This is ridiculous! He's dead. He won't be coming back._

Then again, that sounded more like a wish than a fact. She began to grow anxious. A tiny part of her soul is convincing her of the possibility of Hao's return. She felt the sudden urge to investigate.

_This dream is killing me. I need to find answers._

She rose from the bed and looked out of the window. A speck of sunlight was beginning to streak the dim sky. She changed to her usual black dress and red bandanna then took her blue prayer beads from the table's drawer. She slowly slid her bedroom door and heard faint snoring from the room across hers. She thought twice about telling her recurring dream to Yoh. She did not want to spoil his excitement. Manta and the rest were coming over to the inn for the summer vacation. It's been a year since they last visited.

_Yoh, I'm sorry to leave you right now but I need to get my sleep back._

She tiptoed towards their living room table, got a pen and paper and scribbled down a note to her fiancé. She had the note stuck on the refrigerator door where Yoh can easily find it. With full determination, she went out to the quiet streets.

_I will find answers..._

and she knew where to start looking.

_That man left us at Osorezan._


	2. Coming Home

It was getting dark when Anna reached the place. As she slowly trudged on the stony trail, she couldn't help but ponder on how she had missed the holy mountain so much. Osorezan had been a refuge to her and she felt like she was home again. It was here where she was found by old Kino, Yoh's grandmother. It was here where she had spent her training days as a young itako. It was here where she had her first encounter with Yoh as a child. Moreover, a recurring dream kept on telling her that it was here where he had abandoned them…

Her feet seemed to have known the way because she had just stopped in front of a big slab of stone on which the lady in her dreams, her past self sat while cradling a baby in her arms. She shuddered at the mere thought of having been there before. Past emotions of grief, pain, and anger started to consume her soul. Her head began to spin as the surroundings suddenly morphed back in time. She let out a scream of agony.

* * *

Yoh jumped out of the couch with a start. The gang was playing cards in the living room which happened to be a mess of empty soda cans, potato chip wrappers, CDs and magazines.

"What's the matter Yoh?" Manta looked up at him with anxious eyes.

"I thought I just heard Anna scream," he answered.

Horo Horo slapped him at the back and teased, "You're paranoid Yoh. Just because your scary fiancée left the inn to us for 3 days doesn't mean she employed ghosts to do the scolding for her. Chill out man. We'll make this place squeaky clean before she comes back, right Ryuu?" Horo called out to the tall Elvis lookalike washing the dishes in the kitchen.

"I'll promise to that Master Yoh!" Ryuu shouted back from a pile of plates and bowls.

"Whatever happened here, Horo Horo's the one to blame," Ren let out a smirk.

"What's your problem Shark-hair?" the Ainu threateningly pointed his _ikupasui_ at Ren. The Tao heir responded with a glare.

Yoh smiled as his two friends did their usual round of bickering. He actually missed it. It had been quite a while since they had gathered at the _Funbari Onsen_ which was always like a home to them. However, the scattered chips and spilled beverages were an unholy sight to behold. He then remembered every word in Anna's note that he found stuck on their fridge.

> _Dear Yoh,_
> 
> _I'll be gone for 3 days. Kino asked me to run an errand. If your friends break anything, I will kill you._
> 
> _Anna_

The commotion in the living room was ceased by a loud crash from the kitchen. They all ran to Ryuu and found him sitting on the floor with broken pieces of porcelain everywhere.

"I'm sorry Master Yoh… I was carrying the pile of dishes to the cupboard where I could store them… But there was soapy water on the floor that I did not see.. Please forgive me…." Ryuu sniveled with streaming tears.

"Anna will kill me," Yoh whispered frightened.

* * *

Anna's world stopped spinning. She found herself standing across a miserable lady sitting on the slab of stone that was empty before. The poor woman who physically resembled her was begging for her long-haired husband priest not to leave them. But the man did not show any sign of remorse nor regret. He walked on until he disappeared from their sight. Anna closed her eyes as tears began forming. She couldn't bear to witness it all no matter how many times she saw it. She felt so helpless, so weak that she fell on her knees. These images were more vivid and alive and the wails sounded clearer and more pitiful. Everything seemed so real. She even shivered at the cold wind blowing on her face. It was no longer a dream for her but an actual experience. The cries were getting even louder and closer and she felt something soft and warm in her arms. At this point, Anna opened her eyes. She was now sitting on the very stone slab, wearing the Patch-printed dress in place of the weeping wife. There was the wailing baby in her arms. Before she could even stop herself, the pleading words just came rushing out of Anna's mouth, "Hao, please come back!"

The night went still. The cries were deafened for a moment. And then there was a gust of violent strong wind.

"You called my dear?" he gave her his trademark sneer that she hated so much.


	3. Falling Into A Deep Slumber

Anna stood up and walked away from the slab of stone she was previously sitting on to get a clearer view of who was right before her. She squinted her eyes a couple of times to check if she was not hallucinating. Perhaps he's nothing but a product of her imagination, her anxiety, her subconscious fear. She wanted to slap herself hard so she could finally wake up from this nightmare. 

_This is not real. This is just a dream. Everything will be back to normal_.

She tried to convince herself. The baby in her arms had completely disappeared and she was wearing her usual black dress again. However, the image of the long-haired cocky shaman never left her sight no matter how fast she tried to blink him away.

"Missed me my dear Anna?" asked the unwanted visitor.

"You're supposed to be dead Hao," Anna tried to keep her cool.

"Isn't that such a sweet welcome greeting to someone who has just returned? I might have been gone for good if not for my twin brother's weakness."

"What are you talking about?" she was beginning to lose her temper fast.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Did he not relate to you the details of that fateful day? And I thought engaged couples should tell no secrets to each other."

Anna was poised not to believe anything Hao was going to say but deep down inside, she had this fear that what he was about to tell next was the damn truth. The mere fact that he's alive and mocking her was a clear testament to an incident that should have taken place before but never did - - - the incident involving the death of a maniacal shaman by the hands of her fiancé.

"He betrayed you all Anna. He can not kill me. He can not kill a part of him."

"He told us you were gone for good," Anna defended Yoh's word of honor but her mind was racing back to that time when her fiancé have returned from his one-on-one fight with Hao. She couldn't remember a single word of Yoh telling them that he had finally put an end to his twin brother's life. All she could recall was a memory of him smiling and saying it's over.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you. He was able to defeat my Spirit of Fire if that would make you feel better."

"You are always full of lies Hao Asakura." Anna said with gritted teeth.

"Why would I lie to you my Anna? Didn't I say I'll be coming back for you? I even brought along a new friend." As soon as Hao finished saying this, a man who looked like a Patch tribe warrior materialized beside him. "Let me introduce to you my new spirit, Argon."

Anna was about to grab the 1080 beads from her neck but the long-haired shaman was just too fast. Next thing she knew, Hao had already seized both of her hands and held them tight in front of her. "I do not want to kill you Anna but you would be getting on the way. Argon, I hope you make this quick."

Hao then threw Anna to the Patch warrior spirit who grabbed her by the shoulders. A green light had begun emanating from Argon's hands. Anna felt her whole body being drained of energy. The blonde itako was getting weaker and weaker as the light shone brighter and brighter. She tried to shake herself free from the spirit's grip but to no avail. The flicker of light then bursted into a bright green flare enveloping all things within the perimeter.

Anna started to scream in pain as the mountain breeze turned into a howling wind once more. The dry earth started to crack underneath their feet and the rupture got longer until it split the slab of stone on which Anna previously sat into two. It was at that moment when she saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

"Grandma Kino, you called!" Yoh was a bit surprised to hear from his old folks back home. They weren't the type who would contact him every now and then just to say hi.

"How are you? How is Anna doing there?" Yoh asked remembering that it was the third day since his fiancée had gone to run an errand for his grandmother.

"Not so good," answered a grave voice from the other line.

Yoh wasn't sure if she was talking about her health as she was suffering from arthritis or if she was talking about his fiancée. He became alarmed at the sudden seriousness of the tone.

"An apprentice brought her to the inn this morning. They found her out in the cold at Osorezan... almost dead."


	4. Memories from the Past

The train ride to Shimokita where Osorezan was located was awfully quiet. Despite the comfort and luxury the coach offered, the atmosphere remained tense and no one spoke a word since the gang left Funbari Onsen in a hurry. Even Ren and Horo Horo just sat still and were not in the mood for any catfight. Somehow, everyone was trying to sense what's going on Yoh's head at the moment. The look of shock never left his face from the time when he put down the telephone and told them that something had happened to his fiancée in Osorezan and that he needed to go there fast. They had never seen Yoh looked so frightened in his entire life.

Yoh sat up and looked out from the train's window. The moon was full and bright and the world seemed peaceful in the glorious night. Manta and the others were already snoring their heads off. No matter how hard he closed his eyes, Yoh just couldn't find any urge to sleep. His grandmother did not elaborate what happened over the phone since she herself had not yet seen her student and was also on her way to the holy mountain from Izumo. This was the second time Yoh felt so worried sick in his life. The first was when he rode the very same train to Osorezan to meet his future wife.

"It's been years since I first saw you there," Yoh began to speak softly to no one while staring at the darkness outside. Scenes from the past began flashing in his mind - - - his journey to the holy mountain with the cat guardian spirit, Matamune, his first encounter with Anna, his fight with the Oni, Matamune's sacrifice. These were the sort of memories that were unforgettable.

"If you only knew how anxious I was that day. I was aware of the family tradition and never thought twice that you were a powerful woman. You scared me the first time we met. You scared me still. I already lost Matamune in that place. I don't want also to lose you there."

* * *

Hao stared blankly at the small bonfire before him. He just woke up from another dream --- the one that kept on bothering him since the day he left the blond itako out in the cold in the holy mountain.

 _Anna Kyouyama_ \--- his twin brother's fiancée really caught his interest. He even remarked before that she could be an appropriate Shaman queen. However, his recurring dreams were suggesting that she might really have been his queen in his former life.

_If that's the case, I left you crying in the past and days ago, I left you almost lifeless._

He couldn't believe himself for harboring these guilty feelings.

"Is something bothering you, Master Hao?" Argon, his new spirit materialized by his side. Hao gave him a fleeting look then returned his gaze to the burning flame in front of him. There was something he didn't like about his new spirit that he couldn't point his finger on. Perhaps Argon didn't look as powerful and as menacing as his Spirit of Fire. Perhaps he was, shall we say, so human. In spite of this, Hao needed him. Argon was the one who found him dying in the desert. He needed Argon's power to revive his own. He needed him so he could pursue his plans of making his twin brother suffer for the humiliation he had caused him.

His angry vengeful thoughts were brushed away by his inquisitive spirit when he asked, "Are you worried about the itako?"

"Why would I be?" Hao smiled and answered him with another question.

"You seemed so fond of her. I could kill her that time if you wanted me to."

"I didn't want her dead in the first place. She is an important tool in bringing Yoh's downfall and I suppose you are going to assist me in this all the way?" Hao was not fully convinced of his new spirit's allegiance.

"You have my full support and loyalty, Master Hao." The spirit bowed down before him. "Although you couldn't remember me, I had been a follower of yours since your days in the Patch tribe. I was the one who took care of your wife and child when you have left for the Shaman Fight."

Hao tried to recall everything the spirit was saying but only one image kept on flashing in his mind - - - the image of a crying woman and a child. "Do you think the itako we left at Osorezan had something to do with my past?"

"She showed some resemblance to your past wife. That is why I used that memory to haunt her dreams."

"Then how foolish of Anna to fall for a forged dream, a fake memory," Hao smirked.

"Sometimes dreams are manifestations of one's forgotten memories, Master Hao."

Hao was becoming annoyed of his human spirit. "Enough of this nonsense talk. You haven't given me my daily dose of Furyoku yet."

"I'm sorry for my boldness, Master Hao. This furyoku that I'm going to transfer to you is from the shaman who is guarding this forest." Argon then touched Hao's forehead with his pointing finger which emitted a red light. Hao relished the sudden surge of Furyoku in his body. He felt invincible again that he began to laugh. His maniacal laughter was softened by a gust of strong wind which startled a flock of birds resting on the trees. Their flutter of wings was last heard before the night went still.


	5. Waking Up

Manta gaped at the large ancient structure which reminded him so much of a haunted house. The Asakura inn which was a home to the young itako trainees of the clan blended perfectly to the eerie atmosphere in Osorezan. A number of boiling sulfur pits containing yellow and sometimes blood red liquid dotted the surroundings. The creepiness of the place was further heightened by the presence of ravens and crows perched on top of leafless trees. The black birds stared with a hungry look in their eyes as if waiting for them to die and rot on the spot.

"Welcome to Hell," Horo Horo was the first to comment.

Manta was beginning to feel nauseated by the sulfuric stench of the air which smelled heavily of rotten eggs. He quickly clung onto Ryuu's leg when a white clad figure which looked like a ten-year old girl appeared by the inn's entrance.

"Welcome visitors," the young itako trainee greeted them with a solemn voice, "to the Asakura itako training center."

"So was this purposefully put up to build a pool of potential shaman queens?" Ren scoffed.

"You're quite right about that young man," a hoarse voice answered him, "in some aspects... This was also built to give hope and home to young girls who are shall we say visually-impaired, abandoned and/or left to die by their parents."

"Hello grandmother. It was nice to see you again", Yoh called out sheepishly after seeing Kino's silhouette form behind the young itako.

"Come inside. There are some matters we need to discuss," old Kino beckoned the group.

* * *

The gang found themselves huddled in a small room for receiving visitors. Kino was at the far end of the table while Yoh sat on the other end. It looked like an interrogation. Manta told himself. Yet nobody would like to start the conversation.

What are we waiting for? Ren was becoming impatient.

Spill out the beans, grandma. Horo Horo was feeling the same thing.

The dead air was stirred by the sliding of the door to reveal Tamao carrying a steaming pot of morning tea and behind her, Iron Maiden Jeanne was holding a tray of tea cups.

"Tamao, I'm glad to see you again. Iron Maiden, what a surprise to see you out of that metal casket," Yoh greeted them.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Mistress Anna, Master Yoh," Tamao bowed shyly. She and Iron Maiden Jeanne then sat beside Manta across Ryuu, Horo Horo and Ren after passing out the cups of tea.

Yoh's heart began to beat fast. What did Tamao exactly mean?

"It's unusual that you went here without your X-Laws bodyguards," Ren asked Jeanne, trying to break the silence brought about by everyone's anxiety.

"On the contrary my friend, I went here with her," Lyserg appeared by the door then sat next to the Iron Maiden.

"Everybody, please welcome back the amazing Chocolove!" said the African American as he entered the room with his arms wide open then sat between Horo Horo and Ren to the two shaman's dismay.

"We were invited over by Master Kino," Lyserg explained.

"I see that we're almost complete," old Kino began to speak.

"Almost? Do you mean there are more people coming? Oh boy, this room is getting crowded," said Horo Horo.

"We're not exactly people Master Horo Horo," a familiar voice answered him.

The gang were all smiles when their spirits finally materialized by their side.

"Welcome back Amidamaru. How was your short vacation in the afterlife?" Yoh grinned.

* * *

Anna woke up in a dark room with a life size mirror in the center. She walked closer until she was a foot away from the large mirror but to her astonishment, it did not show her own reflection. She examined herself and noted that she was still wearing her black dress and bandanna but her reflection was wearing something tribal. When she pinched her left arm, the woman in the mirror was also pinching hers. When she touched her face, the woman was also touching her own face. She closed her eyes and tried to shake away the image in front of her. She must be seeing things again. When she opened them, the Patch woman who looked like her if she were ten years older was still there.

* * *

"She hasn't woken up since one of my apprentice found her," old Kino said in a grave tone while looking straight at Yoh's eyes. She noticed the sudden change of her grandson's expression from worry to fear.

"You mean she's in a coma?" Manta inquired.

"No, she's in a deep sleep. I asked Dr. Faust VIII to come here to examine her. He's currently in her room now. He couldn't put his finger on how to wake her up."

"Perhaps Iron Maiden could heal her or something," Ryuu suggested.

"I couldn't as much as I wanted to. I remain powerless up to this day because of Hao," Jeanne spoke softly.

"We're here actually to train. We presumed that Mistress Jeanne's power would come back if she would stay in a place where spirit energy is fully concentrated. We had newly arrived here when they had just discovered Anna. I guess it was a bad timing for us," Lyserg felt sorry for the situation.

"Well, that explains why you're here. Why is HE here?" Ren pointed at Chocolove.

"We met him in the streets of London. He begged for us to bring him also," said Lyserg.

"It was not begging that I did. It was hitch hiking," Chocolove started to protest in an exaggerated manner.

"I bet you did not pay for your own plane fare," Ren smirked.

Their momentary bickering was stopped when Yoh finally spoke up in a cracked voice, "She just left a note saying she'll be away for 3 days running errands for you, Grandma. I thought she was in Izumo. I did not know she would come here."

"What's more important Yoh is that Anna is still alive," Manta tried to comfort him.

"But what just happened to her or who would do this to her?" Horo Horo thought out loud. "Anna is frighteningly a strong woman. It's not like she'll just faint and remain unconscious for days."

"Whatever happened to Anna is entirely my fault," Yoh lowered his head.

"Don't be too hard on yourself Master Yoh," it was Ryuu's turn to do the comforting.

"He's still alive. He must have hurt her to get back on me," Yoh angrily banged his fists on the wooden table.

"What are you talking about Yoh? Who is still alive?" Manta was confused.

"Hao is," Yoh whispered but everyone seemed to have heard him well since everybody in the room froze for a few minutes trying to comprehend why the evil shaman still existed.

"But you've killed him, right? How could he still be alive?" Ren asked in a serious tone.

Yoh looked at Amidamaru as if begging for his spirit to tell them what happened in his behalf.

Amidamaru did not fail his human friend, "Master Yoh and I was able to subdue the Spirit of Fire, weakened its untamed powers and sealed it away in the bowels of the earth. But…" he paused.

The memories of that fateful day flashed back in Amidamaru's head. Hao was already down on the ground with bruises from the final blow. He was very weak but still alive when they approached him. Yoh was ready to plunge his sword into Hao's chest but stopped in mid-air as he gazed at his twin brother's defeated face. Yoh then lowered his sword, turned his back and walked away.

"Master Yoh, he…" Amidamaru was trying to look for more fitting words.

"I left Hao dying in the desert… I just couldn't completely strike him down… He was a very lonely shaman… and he was my twin brother," Yoh finished for him.

There was silence again. However, the dead air was short-lived when Dr. Faust VIII banged the door open with a sense of excitement written all over his face, "She just moved her fingers. This is good news!"

Yoh and the gang hurried into Anna's room. They found her lying on the futon, dressed in a white kimono, covered by a neat white blanket - looking as pale as ever. Yoh knelt down beside his fiancée's futon and gently shook her, "Anna, please wake up. I'm sorry… This is all my fault… Anna, Anna, Anna… "

* * *

Anna reached out with her right hand to the woman in the mirror. As soon as the palms of their hands were touching, images of a past she can not remember as her own began flooding into her head as if somebody pushed the rewind button in her subconscious mind. It started with the scene from her recurring dream, then was eventually replaced by images of a long-haired adult shaman happily playing with their child, sitting beside her bed while she was laboring, sleeping with her, standing next to her in a tribal wedding ceremony, giving her baskets of fruits, walking hand in hand with her, gazing lovingly at her. The sudden rush of memories made her head hurt. She was about to cry from the stabbing pain when she heard a voice calling her name repeatedly. She stumbled backward due to exhaustion, saw the large mirror fading before her and after a few seconds, there was darkness again.

The next thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the face of her very worried teary-eyed fiancé and his bunch of idiot friends staring at her.

"Anna!" Yoh cared less what his friends would say but he was going to hug her for the first time in his life.

Before he could completely enclose her in a warm embrace, there came a loud SLAP!


	6. Revelations

Yoh caressed his swollen right cheek while staring unbelievably at his fiancée who glowered at him with her eyes full of killing intent. After days of deep slumber, she woke up with quite a fury.

"Anna, what did I do?"

"That evil shaman you let live almost killed me, stupid." Anna snapped.

 _Wow, and I thought they will get lovey-dovey after all they've been through._ Manta sweat dropped. _But then again, this confirms that Hao is still alive._

Yoh lowered his head almost begging for forgiveness. "I'm sorry… Had I known he would come back to hurt you, I should have finished him off that day," he murmured.

Somehow Anna's icy glare softened. There was that unwanted silence again. They always had this moment when no words could explain how they truly feel. Kino cleared her throat and the rest of the group began to walk out of the room leaving the two of them behind.

Yoh asked in a worried tone as soon as everyone had gone outside, "What happened there, Anna?"

The itako did not reply at once. She seemed to be weighing whether or not she'd disclose to him the real reason why she had traveled to Osorezan by herself. Should she tell him that she was just bothered by her probable past relationship with the most terrible shaman that ever lived not to mention he was his twin brother in this lifetime? Finally she said, "Let's save the explanation for later. Everyone has to hear this."

Yoh inquired no further regarding the matter and just asked, "Do you want something? anything?"

"I want you to train, Yoh." Anna said firmly.

"Ammm… ok.." Yoh wanted to faint but he had to make it up to his fiancée.

"Hao is back out for revenge. I was just lucky that I'm still alive."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you." Yoh felt bad again of his powerlessness.

"Why did you not kill him?"

Yoh paused for a few seconds then finally admitted, "I couldn't... He was the brother that I never had."

Anna's lips slightly curved into a little smile. "It's just so you."

"But I'll definitely get him this time," Yoh promised her. "I'll train hard if you want me to. Good thing Amidamaru just got back from the afterlife."

As if on Yoh's signal, Amidamaru materialized beside his master. "It's nice to see you awake, Mistress Anna."

There was no response. The itako did not even give his spirit friend a look.

"Ammm… Anna, is there something wrong?" Yoh asked.

"Help me get up. I'm getting dizzy with hunger." Anna removed the blankets covering her.

"So Hao has really returned," said Old Kino while lowering her tea cup. Everyone was gathered again in the small room with the newly-awake Anna at the center of the table.

"Yes, Master Kino. I saw him with my own eyes. He has a new spirit with him who looked like a member of the Patch tribe." Anna expounded.

"A new spirit eh? I wonder if it's more powerful than his Spirit of Fire," Horo Horo thought out loud.

"I don't think so. It should have killed Anna had it been more powerful than the S.O.F.," Ren reasoned out.

"Nonetheless, this new spirit may have special abilities that helped Hao survive for a year. We should never be too laid back on this," warned Lyserg. "Mistress Jeanne, I think we should pursue our main purpose of coming here. We'll take this as an opportunity to revive your powers."

"Yes, we could make use of them right now. I'll work hard to I have them back," Jeanne said with a determined look.

"And I thought I'll be here for a vacation," Chocolove pouted.

"Lyserg is right. We have to be prepared for Hao's attack," Yoh stood up holding his weapon.

"I'll join you in your training Master Yoh," Ryuu shot up from his seat afterwards.

"I'm on this!" Horo-Horo and the rest of the group followed. Only Manta, Tamao, Old Kino and Anna remained sitting.

"Train well!" Tamao waved good bye as the gang moved out of the room.

"The inn seemed quieter without them," Manta observed.

Tamao smiled then noticed the almost empty pot. "Oh, we're running out of tea. Conchi and Ponchi," she called out.

The comical fox and raccoon spirits came in holding a hot tea pot on a tray. They seemed to be struggling on the simple task since it took an eternity for them to carry the tray from the opened door up to the table.

"Tea, Mistress Anna?" they asked in unison when they finally got to her side.

The itako took no notice of them and continued looking on Old Kino's direction.

"Miss Anna, would you like to have more tea?" Tamao asked again in behalf of her twin spirits.

"No thanks. I'm full."

Conchi and Ponchi then proceeded to refill the rest of the cups except for the itako's.

Kino watched Anna behind her black spectacles as she sipped her tea. The girl seemed to be bothered by something. "Do you have anything you want to tell me, Anna?"

The itako shook her head. "It's nothing important Master Kino."

"Anna, I wished you would stop keeping secrets from me. I'm your teacher and your grandmother-in-law. We surely do not want to end up cultivating an unhealthy relationship if this would keep up."

Manta and Tamao felt uneasy. They weren't used to seeing Anna get scolded like that although Kino did it rather gently.

The awkward moment was abruptly interrupted by a soft knocking on the door.

"Please do come in," Kino called out.

The door revealed the same girl who greeted Yoh's group by the inn's entrance.

"Ahh Suzume, everyone, I'd like you to meet one of my trainees in the inn. This is Suzume Azai. She was the one who found you, Anna."

"I am deeply pleased that you are well now, Mistress Anna," the young girl bowed down.

"What news do you have for me Suzume?" Kino asked with full interest.

"I am here to confirm that the headstone was broken, Master Kino."

Yoh's grandmother clasped her hands together in front of her and thought deeply, "Is that so?"

Manta was the one who was courageous enough to ask. "Whose memorial was broken?"

"Not many shamans know of this legend," Kino started. I'm not really sure if the story is true because there are no existing accounts to verify them. Well, there were two copies of the record before. One was lost in the Patch village repository due to a fire incident that happened centuries earlier while the other one was stored in the restricted section of this inn's library but went missing 10 years ago."

Anna suddenly felt cold and clammy. She had a gut feeling that she knew what her master was about to say next.

"The place where Suzume found Anna was thought to be the burial ground of the Patch Hao's ill-fated wife."


	7. The New Guardian Spirit

Ren held his _kwan dao_ in front of him concentrating on the heavy rush of water from the cataract. He took a deep breath then with a swift movement, slice the waterfall in a crisscross pattern. He poised himself for another strike but as his spear hit the water, a spray of shattered ice flew into his face which he successfully blocked with his weapon. He glared at the blue-haired prankster who was snickering at him on top of a protruded stone from the waterfall.

Horo Horo slid down using his snowboard from where he was standing and landed on Ren's side. "I thought it would be easier for you to break the water if it's in solid form," he sneered.

"Bason!" Ren called for his spirit and pointed his _kwan dao_ menacingly at Horo Horo. The Tao's eyes glittered with excitement.

"I'm ready when you are Master Ren," said the warrior spirit as he materialized beside the Chinese shaman.

"It has been a long time since we last dueled Shark-hair," the Ainu was feeling enthusiastic as well. "Bring it on!" Kororo, the tiny _Koro Pokkuru_ spirit appeared by the ice shaman's shoulder.

Ren smirked. "I won't go easy on you."

"Over soul!" both shamans shouted at the same time.

* * *

**At the forest near the waterfall...**

"Mistress Jeanne, are you sure you want me to strike you?" Lyserg hesitated.

"My body has not reached its limit yet, Lyserg. For me to regain my lost spiritual powers, I have to endure a series of painful physical experience. It is only when I have reached enlightenment will my spiritual force overcome my physical weakness." Jeanne said in a pensive voice.

 _I wish she'd stop saying that. It's time for her to realize that she's no longer inside the iron maiden_. The English shaman thought.

"Please Lyserg, I need to regain my powers."

"As much as I do not want to hurt you, Mistress Jeanne, here it goes. Morphine!" Lyserg threw his crystal pendulum at the fragile-looking girl in front of him. However, it missed her by a hair strand and struck instead the Afro-American shaman sleeping next to a dozing jaguar under the tree right behind her.

"What was that for?" Chocolove yelled while rubbing his forehead which bore an angry red mark.

"Oops, sorry, my aim was bad today," Lyserg bowed down his head but did not look apologetic.

Meanwhile, in another part of Osorezan, Yoh and Amidamaru had been walking quietly towards a cave where they're planning to train when the samurai spirit suddenly broke the silence.

"Master Yoh, forgive me for asking this. Mistress Anna seemed to have been ignoring me for quite a few times. Do you think she's mad at me?"

Yoh paused then turned to face the samurai spirit. "If there's one person she should be mad at, it should be me, Amidamaru. These things happened because of my weakness. I need to make it up to her. Will you help me?"

"I'll lend you all my powers Master Yoh." Amidamaru smiled.

"Let's hurry up! Everybody has started."

* * *

**Back at the Asakura Itako Training Center...**

"Hao's wife?" Tamao was dumbfounded from what she had just heard.

"Yes, he got himself a wife when he was reincarnated in the Patch tribe. It was from their lineage that the Shaman fight official, Silva was born into." Kino explained further.

"Yes, I sort of heard that story from Silva himself," Manta remembered.

"I did not expect that such an evil soul could have loved someone else," Tamao thought out loud.

"Perhaps he was just making sure that he could reincarnate into either of the two most powerful shaman clans," Manta pondered on the possibility.

"Mistress Anna, would you like to take some medicines? You looked very pale," inquired Suzume, Kino's young trainee.

Everyone's attention was directed to the blond itako who seemed to be shaking all over.

"I'm fine. No need to worry," Anna tried to look normal.

Before anyone could ask her further, there came several loud screams from the inn's yard. They all ran out of the room to check on the commotion outside. Tamao gasped as she saw several trainees sprawled unconscious on the ground. They seemed to be drained of all of their energies. Manta's forehead began forming tiny beads of sweat upon discovering who was causing the uproar. Anna's heart thumped continuously. She had never expected to see him too soon.

"What a bold move to show your face to us again, Hao." Old Kino stepped forward from the entrance door.

"I had to commend you old woman. You can still sense me even though you already lost your sight," the long-haired shaman scoffed.

"Your soul reeks so much of malevolence for me not to remember it. I only lost my sense of sight but not my sense of seeing," said Kino unafraid.

"This only proves that you're really a talented itako. You did pretty well training these young girls."

Old Kino froze and her voice faltered, "What did you do to my students?"

"Let's just say they have been a good source of food."

Anna stepped forward and with clenched fists she angrily shouted, "You have no right to hurt these young girls. What do you want Hao?"

"My dear Anna, it's good to see you again. You've never changed that strong stance of yours since we last met."

 _Oh no. Mistress Anna couldn't handle this alone. She's not fully recovered yet. Master Yoh, where are you?_ Tamao shook with fear.

"Hmmm… so the midget is also here?" Hao turned his gaze at Manta. "That means my little brother is just nearby. Too bad he's not here to witness how I would destroy his clan's inn and all that lives in this rickety place."

"I won't allow you to even come a step closer to this inn," Anna held tightly to her 1080 beads then started her channeling spell, "Spirits of our forefathers, spirits of ancient warriors, I call you from your resting place. Please lend us your powers! Kuchiyose!"

There was a dead air as everyone waited for something to happen. As the minute passed and nothing came out, Anna felt like dropping down to her knees in despair.

Hao put on a curious look on his face then a mischievous smile slowly formed when realization had dawned on him. "Interesting… I never thought it would be like this. Now is the time to show yourself, Argon."

Old Kino was startled at the mention of the name. The Patch warrior spirit holding a hatchet appeared by his master's side. "I'd like you to meet a few of my brother's pitiful friends," said Hao.

"Hold your horses! Save the acquaintances for later. Don't think I'll let you hurt them," a voice called out from behind the evil shaman.

"Ryuu!" Manta was relieved when someone has finally come to their rescue.

The Elvis look alike gave them a broad grin and did a thumb up. However, his grand entrance was cut short when Tamao screamed, "Look out!"

Argon was right behind him ready to strike his hatchet with a murderous intent.

Ryuu immediately turned around, successfully blocked the attack with his wooden sword and jumped a meter away from Argon. Had it been an ordinary wooden sword, it would have broken down into two.

"Tokagero, it's time for us to teach this guy a lesson. Oversoul! Yamata no - ," but Ryuu was not able to complete his move as he was struck by two arrows on the left and right shoulders. He fell down on his knees and tried to pull the arrow on his left but it would not budge.

"Ryuu!" everybody on his side screamed.

 _This Argon guy is quick_. Ryuu was beginning to lose his composure. _A minute ago he was holding a hatchet and just now he hit me with these. I did not see him change his weapon to a bow and arrow. Who the heck is this guy anyway?_

Hao gave a satisfied smile. "An insect such as you is no match for me. Argon, finish him off."

In a split second, the Patch warrior spirit was right in front of the fallen Ryuu. He grabbed him by his stylized hair. Ryuu struggled to break free but couldn't move his entire body. He groaned when Argon's hand started to emit a green light which grew even brighter second after second.

"No! Stop it!" Anna yelled desperately as she was fully aware of what to become of Ryuu when the Patch spirit completely absorbs his furyoku.

"Golden Chuuka Zanmai!

"Nipopo Punch!"

Argon let go of the weakened Ryuu to evade Ren's and Horo Horo's simultaneous attacks.

However, he was not able to stir clear of the rope dart that was Morphine who struck him on the chest. Argon cringed a bit but had no time to rest when a huge injection came from the sky.

"Mephisto E!"

Argon successfully dodged it but was punched on the left cheek by Chocolove with his Shaft Claw.

"I bet that taste good!" Chocolove sneered. "And for the final act of this performance…"

Yoh raised his sword, "Amida-ryu Goko - " but immediately withdrew it in shock when the patch warrior spirit called out his counterattack.

"Yamata no Orochi!" The familiar eight-headed giant snake appeared by Argon's side.

"Long time no see little brother," Hao greeted Yoh with spite. "You owe me a lot of things but payment is due for another day. That will be enough Argon. Let's go!" the evil Asakura twin turned his back on them to retreat.

"Just a moment Hao!" Ren furiously called out.

"Chillout man. We'll let him go for now. Ryuu is badly hurt." Horo Horo grabbed his arm to stop him from running after Hao.

Yoh and the gang hurriedly went to Ryuu who was being tended by Jeanne and Tamao. They immediately carried him into the inn.

"How is he Faust?" Yoh asked the doctor who just entered the room with a grave face. They were once again huddled in the small meeting room.

"He's still alive although very weak. It appears as if he fell into a deep slumber just like what happened to the rest of the young trainees," Faust VIII replied.

"Was he also the one who did that to you Anna?" asked Manta.

"Yes, he's the one." The itako confirmed.

"He almost drained them of their spiritual energy but there were vital signs that they will survive." Faust calmed the group.

"So he's like a furyoku vampire?" Chocolove tried to lighten everyone's mood to no avail.

"Come to think of it, he may have been feeding off Hao with the stolen furyoku. Didn't you notice him being as rejuvenated not to mention as cocky as when he had his Spirit of Fire," Ren pointed out.

"That Argon guy is beginning to give me the creeps. How on earth was he able to draw out Yamata no Orochi?" Horo Horo shuddered.

"It seems like he is absorbing the furyoku to copy also the abilities of his opponents. Thus the calling out of Ryuu's oversoul," Lyserg noted.

"You hit it right on the nail, Lyserg. Argon could be one of those furyoku vampire copycats!" Chocolove exclaimed.

"Basing on Anna's experience, we can be sure that Ryuu and the girls' energies will be fully restored. That's enough good news," Yoh was feeling optimistic.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that Yoh," his fiance said with a serious tone.

"What do you mean Anna?" Manta asked nervously. Old Kino fixed her gaze firmly at her.

"We are not sure if they'd be able to use their spiritual abilities when they have fully recovered. I haven't used mine since I woke up," the itako confessed. "My spiritual eyes had been blinded. I could no longer see or call spirits."


	8. Conversations at Midnight

The shock brought about by Anna's revelation did not left their faces for quite sometime. Just the mere thought of her being powerless was way beyond their imagination.

"You're joking right, Anna?" Yoh was a bit in denial although he knew very well that his fiancée was not the type who would pull anyone's leg.

"Do I look like I'm kidding, Yoh? I, the future Shaman Queen am currently incapable of seeing, hearing, calling or even sensing spirits." There was a tinge of hurt in the itako's voice.

"When Mistress Jeanne's guardian spirit Shamash was devoured by the Spirit of Fire, she completely lost all her shamanic powers. However, we believe that she can gain them back through vigorous training," said Lyserg slowly.

"There is still hope," Jeanne agreed. "We can work hard for it."

"But unlike Anna, Jeanne did not lose her spiritual senses," Chocolove's careless words were instantaneously rewarded with punches on both cheeks from Ren and Horo Horo who were sitting beside him.

"Some sensitive guy you are," they both muttered harshly to him.

Old Kino cleared her throat. "This is really some serious matter. We should all be vigilant of Hao's new spirit. If he can steal furyoku and shamanic abilities as well as block someone's spiritual senses, then we are all in grave danger. He could take you one by one and render you helpless."

"Who could have thought that such a frighteningly strong spirit could exist?" Tamao felt disheartened all of a sudden.

"I guess we should train as a group to check on each other once in a while," Lyserg suggested.

"That is a logical recommendation young man but I have to stay at the inn to look after Ryuu and the rest of the victims," Faust VIII insisted.

"We could do rotations. One of us will accompany Faust in overseeing the inn while the rest train. We could just change shifts every hour," Ren proposed.

"That seems to be a very decent plan," Faust approved.

Old Kino stood from her chair when the resolution has come to its finality. "I'm going back to Izumo to relay to the Asakura elders of what happened here. Please contact me as soon as your friend and my trainees wake up. Suzume, kindly tend to everyone's needs while I'm away."

"Yes, Master Kino," the apprentice bowed.

The old woman turned to her grandson before leaving the room, "Yoh, please accompany me to the Shimokita train station. The sun will be setting in an hour. You wouldn't allow a poor old blind woman to walk all by herself in the almost darkness, would you?"

"Of course not, grandma," Yoh sweat dropped then followed her out of the room. "I'll be back right away guys," he waved before sliding the door shut.

Anna immediately stood up as soon as her fiancé and grandmother-in-law left. "I'm going to rest in my room. Don't bother me," she said firmly.

 _I wonder how Anna is taking it right now…_ Manta can't help but feel pity for her as he followed her out of the room with his gaze.

"I'll just check on my patients. You can find me in this inn's clinic if you need anything," Faust was the next to leave.

The remaining occupants of the small meeting room just sat still for the next few minutes. The silence may have been brought about by exhaustion, anxiety or distress. Everyone felt heavily caught up in the situation and was certain that they were in for one hell of a summer vacation. However, the grimness of the atmosphere did not last long due to an audible grumbling of someone's stomach.

"Oh boy! Let's call it a day. I'm hungry! Tamao what's for dinner?" Horo Horo grinned at the pink-haired girl sitting across the table.

* * *

The clock struck midnight but the sandman seemed to have deprived Anna of a good dream. She was standing once again in front of a large mirror reflecting an older version of her in Patch tribal clothes.

"What if you don't regain your powers?" she heard her own voice speaking to her as the woman in the mirror moved her lips. "You would be nothing but a useless weak human girl. You would no longer be fit to be the Shaman Queen. He will just leave you like what he did to me before."

"Yoh is different. He wouldn't leave me for being powerless," Anna's voice broke. She was on the verge of crying.

"They are of one and the same soul. Trust me. Give me your hand."

Anna reluctantly placed her hand on the mirror's surface so that their palms were touching again.

"Do not forget how he had hurt us deeply."

Anna wrinkled her forehead in pain as her recurring dream played on her mind once more - the frosty night, the wailing baby, the long-haired shaman with cold eyes who left them for good. She was being forced to remember it all again.

"Anna!"

She instantly pulled back her hand from the mirror when she heard someone calling her name.

Anna woke up and wiped away the tears that formed when she was asleep. She heard soft knocking on her bedroom door followed by Yoh's voice calling to her worriedly. She got up and reached for the door but hesitated to open it. Instead, she just stood a few inches away from it and spoke, "What is it this time Yoh?"

Yoh stopped knocking, paused for a while then replied from the other side of the door, "I thought I heard you crying, Anna. I wanted to check if you're ok."

"I'm not crying stupid. You may have heard a cat. Why are you awake at this time of the night?"

"Errr… I had to pee..." There was a pause again. "The others told me you went straight to your room and did not have dinner. I tried to knock earlier but you were not responding so I thought you were already asleep. Do you want to eat?"

"That's true, I was already dozing off when you happened to wake me up."

Yoh thought he heard muffled sniffs from the other side of the door. "Are you alright Anna?"

"Stop asking questions Yoh. You're starting to irritate me."

"Ohhh…. Sorry for disturbing you. I'm going back to my room now. If you're hungry, just give my door a tap. I can accompany you while you eat in the kitchen. Good night Anna!" he started to leave but halted when he heard the door being opened to reveal his fiancée with tear-stained cheeks.

"Do – you – mind – if – you – would– sleep – beside – me – for – tonight?" the itako was having a hard time letting the words out. She was blushing furiously.

Yoh nodded but couldn't hide his blush, too. "I do-don't mi-mind An-Anna. It's pre-pretty cro-crowded in m-my ro-room ri-right n-now," he stammered while slowly sliding the door shut behind him.

They both laid down facing opposite sides on the futon with quite a number of inches apart from one another. There was that awkward silence again.

"Yoh."

"Anna."

They both uttered each other's names at the same time. They slowly turned to face each other to remove the tension that was forming. "You go ahead first Anna. Mine's not that important."

"You always say that during conversations like this, stupid. Are you that afraid of me?"

"Ammm… I am a bit frightened when you get angry or annoyed Anna," he averted his gaze from her.

"You shouldn't be now. I'm currently in an awful state. I am no match for you," there was sadness in the itako's voice.

"Don't lose hope, Anna. You'll have them back eventually. Trust me." he beamed at her.

"What if I don't get them back? What will become of me then? An ordinary human girl is no longer fit to become Shaman Queen."

Yoh thought for awhile then smiled sheepishly, "Then you would still become Yoh Asakura's wife. Nothing would ever change that fact, Anna."

The itako felt her heart melting. She immediately turned her back on Yoh as a teardrop rolled down her left cheek. "Go to sleep then Yoh Asakura. If you want to become my husband, you would have to train hard."


	9. Soul Purification Ritual

Yoh woke up with a jerk when an alarm clock which was strategically placed on his side of the futon did its raucous morning call. He thought he was still dreaming when he found himself in his fiancée's room. Then he remembered what had transpired last night and felt a blush creeping into his cheeks. It had been a long time since they slept beside each other again.

Last night was also one of the rare moments that he found his fiancé vulnerable not that he disliked the strong sharp-tongued Anna. There was just this silent clamor for his protection radiating from her. Old Kino's last words before she boarded the train to Izumo flashed back on his mind.

_Whatever happens Yoh, please stand by Anna._

He would, even if his grandma did not instruct him to do so. He slowly turned to his right to gaze at his fiancée's sleeping form but only found…an empty futon.

 _Where is Anna?_ Yoh began to panic. Then he noticed the small note with the itako's handwriting sticking on the alarm clock's face. It said "training starts at 5 AM." It was now 5:10 AM. He panicked even more.

Yoh was geared for his usual morning jog with Amidamaru around the Asakura itako training center wearing a sweatshirt and jogging pants. He pulled his hair up in a pony tail and started stretching. He was beginning to enjoy mornings at Osorezan. Despite the smell of rotten eggs in the air that never went away, everything seemed peaceful. It was still dark but he could see the young trainees clad in white robes meditating on every spot surrounding the inn. He was amazed at how his grandmother had managed to discipline her students and had overseen the progress of every intern. They were a physical manifestation of her life's work. Yoh was proud of her.

The sun began to peek on the horizon signaling all that lived on earth that another day was about to be born. Yoh hurriedly ran towards the waterfalls located on the eastern side to catch a glimpse of the glorious sunrise in Osorezan. He slowed down his pace as soon as he spotted a familiar figure meditating under the falls. The rising sun illuminated the blond itako wearing a white robe whose wetness made it almost translucent. The spray of water from the falls had a sparkling effect on her. It was definitely a breath-taking sight. Yoh felt his jaw dropping a bit.

"Ahem! Master Yoh, forgive me for ruining the moment. If Mistress Anna finds you gawking at her instead of training, we'll be in big trouble," Amidamaru reminded him.

"Ohh.. sorry! Let's go Amidamaru!" Yoh started to jog slowly away from the falls but his gaze was still transfixed on his meditating fiancée.

"Master Yoh, watch out for that tree!"

Blag!

It was too late.

* * *

"What happened to your face Yoh?" Manta inquired innocently. The gang except for Anna had gathered again in one of the inn's small rooms that served as a dining area for guests.

"I ran into a tree," Yoh mumbled.

"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard this morning," Ren frowned.

"He was probably sleep walking dude," Horo Horo said to Ren then turned to Yoh. "I got out of bed last night around 2 AM to pee. I noticed you were not in our room. I did not know you have a sleeping disorder."

"Errmmm…" was the only word that came out of Yoh's mouth.

Tamao, Jeanne and Suzume saved his neck from his friends' further interrogation when they entered the room carrying their breakfast. "Dig in boys!" they said in chorus as they laid the dishes on the table.

While everybody is ravaging the morning meal, Yoh asked the girls, "Isn't Anna home yet?"

"She's undergoing soul purification ritual right now at the Osorezan falls. It would take a whole day to complete the first phase," it was Suzume who answered.

"What is soul purification?" Manta asked curiously.

"It's a ritual that we itako trainees do in order to condition our entire soul to effectively become a mediator of the physical to the spiritual world. Only trainees who can successfully purify their souls would be able to call or channel spirits with ease and without danger."

"I'll bring her breakfast," Yoh gathered slices of bread on a plate and was about to stand up when the Suzume stopped him.

"She should not be disturbed, Master Yoh. She's not allowed to eat or talk to someone while performing the ritual."

"Oh, poor Anna. What inhumane practices you have in this training center," Chocolove who had been listening to their conversation spoke without thinking.

Yoh couldn't agree more but it was his grandma who ran the place. He was beginning to understand why Anna had imposed a brutal training regimen for him. It's what she was used to. "You said earlier that this was only the first phase, you mean there are more to come?"

"Yes, the soul purification ritual will run for 3 days. The first phase involves cleansing the body of all impurities. The second phase requires clearing the mind of any bad thoughts. The third phase entails freeing the heart from negative emotions."

"It sounded more like an 'Iron Maiden' sort of training to me," Horo Horo remarked but was responded with a glare from Lyserg.

Everyone seemed to be paying attention to Suzume now.

"If the first phase requires fasting for a day while being subject to a cold heavy rush of water, I wonder how the next two phases will go on," Lyserg thought out loud.

"Instead of minding Anna's training, why not start our own?" Ren stood up while placing his kwan dao over his shoulder.

"That's a good idea. You go train while I check on Ryuu and the others," Faust VIII was already heading for the door.

"I'll stay with Faust. I'm on the first shift," Chocolove yawned, stretched his arms then went after the doctor.

As the gang walked out of the room, Yoh's timid voice was heard saying, "Let's train near the waterfalls" followed by teases from his friends.

Tamao and Suzume began to clear the table as soon as everybody left the room. Only the two girls and Manta remained.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help around here," Manta sighed.

"Don't be. You're supposed to enjoy your summer vacation and not work," Tamao let out a smile.

"The inn's library houses old articles and scrolls about the Asakura Clan and the itako training center. You can stay there if you want to, Master Manta," Suzume suggested.

"That seems interesting. Thanks Suzume! Please don't call me 'master' anymore," Manta beamed at her then excitedly ran out of the room.

* * *

" _Pathetic girl, did you readily believe his lies?"_

Anna found herself being scolded by the lady on the other side of the life size mirror once again.

"I told you, Yoh is different."

" _Yoh is Hao. They were born of the same evil seed."_

"Stop saying that. They're two different individuals. What do you want from me anyway?"

" _I'm here to show you your past so that it could serve as a warning for what would happen in the future."_

"Hao can belong to my past for all I care. Yoh is my future right now and I'm happy with my future."

Then the large mirror was consumed with the sudden burst of white light.

Anna was a bit blinded by the sun's rays as she slowly opened her eyes for the day has fully arrived almost 4 hours ago. Her body had already grown used to the coldness of the falls. The heavy drop of water actually felt like a massage on her back and shoulders. However, she can slightly hear her stomach grumbling and begging for food. The last meal she ate was yesterday's lunch and she felt kind of dizzy from hunger.

"You seemed to be enjoying down there."

Anna recognized the distinct cocky voice coming from the top of the falls. She immediately stood and looked up to verify the intruder. Hao jumped down from where he was standing and landed on the stone the itako was sitting on.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm paying you a visit of course, my wife of 500 years ago."

"I am not related to you in any way Hao."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. I'm currently wondering how an ordinary girl would become the future shaman queen… Don't you think you're way under qualified for that position? And ohhh… by the way, have the old warts from the Asakura clan's council of elders already told you of the family customs?"

"What family customs are you talking about?"

"That if in case the current selection for the heir's future wife would become incompetent that is unable to produce an heir or to meet up to their expectations, the council of elders have the right to replace her. I should know. I had been part of that insane clan for years."

"Leave me alone you bastard!"Anna instinctively reached for something in her neck but remembered she left her 1080 beads at the inn.

Hao chuckled annoyingly. "Look at you. You're just a defenseless ordinary human girl."

"On the contrary Hao, I still have these!" Anna swung her right arm to slap the arrogant shaman but Hao was able to grab it. With a swift movement, she swung her Legendary left which sent Hao slipping unto the pool of water. But before he could completely fall, he was able to take hold of the itako's left wrist pulling her into the water as well. A big splash was heard afterwards.

Anna continuously sank unto the bottom of the pool. She struggled to swim to the surface but her body seemed to have reached its maximum limit. She felt very weak of hunger and started to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw was a strong pair of arms pulling her up.

* * *

**Back at the itako training center...**

The inn's repository had an eerie ambiance about it with its dim incandescent light, broken heater, sneeze-triggering cobwebs, and dusty scrolls and texts in various states of decay. The room gave Manta the impression of a storage area rather than a library for the books and unrolled scrolls have been carelessly piled up on top of each other with some piles already hitting the ceiling. The little man had already dismissed the idea that if the mountain of old documents would crash down on him, he would be buried alive with no one ever finding his body. He was more preoccupied now in devouring the contents of a delicate-looking book outlining the genealogy of the Asakura Clan.

After a few minutes of reading, he slammed the book shut when all he could find were the names of the clan's ancestors with no description whatsoever. He was getting frustrated at the lack of progress he was making in his attempt to unearth small traces of hints about Patch Hao's wife and why she was buried in Osorezan. He had this gut feeling that it could help Anna regain her powers if he researched about the history of the place where she had lost them. He tried to pull gently another book from a shorter pile but despite his effort of slowly extracting the item, the mound finally collapsed on him. He struggled to free himself from the sea of paper and parchment and sneezed heavily as a cloud of dust enveloped him. He frantically began to arrange the books into a pile as soon as he could breathe properly again. He lifted a very fragile-looking book whose leaves were almost peeled off when something slid from one of the pages. It was an old black and white photograph or a class picture to be exact of a group of adolescent itakos.

He scanned the picture with his eyes assessing the probable personality and prettiness level of each girl in the photograph when he came upon Anna standing next to Yoh's grandmother who didn't look as old as she was right now. 

_I never thought they could be so backward here when it comes to technology._ Manta chuckled to himself.

He flipped the photograph to see if anything was written on the back. In an almost fading black ink, he can make out the words:

**_To Kino-sensei,_ **

**_I will never forget your teachings._ **

**_From Ayako, 1975_ **


	10. The Council of Elders

_She felt two strong hands pulling her up towards the surface just in time before everything went dark. When she regained her consciousness, she felt wet lips enclosing her own and breathing air into her lungs. She opened her eyes and saw a long-haired man who appeared to be a tribal priest staring at her. There was a hint of worry in his stern face, "Are you alright?" she heard him say._

_She slowly sat up and asked weakly, "Who are you?"_

" _My name is Hao. I belong to the Patch tribe and I'm on my way home. I stopped by the oasis to get a drink when I saw you fainting by the side of the lake and falling into the water. If it's not too rude to ask, where are you from? Why is a beautiful woman such as you all alone here?"_

_It was then that she started to weep. When she had finally calmed down, she began to relate her story. "I'm the daughter of a tribal chieftain ruling the eastern side of the desert. Someone attacked in the night and burned our whole village down killing everyone. My father forced me to escape before he died. He instructed me to locate the Patch tribe and give this to their leader." She showed him a thin wooden string hanging on her neck with a pea size pendant made of some red gem._

_The man diverted his gaze to the pendant which reflected his hungry look. The girl hid it safely under her blouse. "I'm really fortunate that a member of the Patch tribe found me."_

" _Yes, so fortunate. You need not worry, I could bring you there safely," he assured her._

" _Thank you very much. I owe you my life."_

" _You haven't told me your name yet."_

" _I was called Anya in our tribe."_

* * *

"Anna! Anna! Anna!" Hao was gently slapping her cheek a couple of times after laying her on the stone where they have been standing before. "Anna! Anna! Anya!"

Hao abruptly discontinued his light spanking to wake the itako up. He couldn't believe what he just heard himself say. _I called her by some other name… Anya_. He was convinced he was having a déjà vu.

 _This has happened before_.

Anna coughed the water out while Hao was busy with his musings. When she noticed that the long-haired shaman was absentmindedly hovering on top of her she gave him a big push and sent him splashing into the pool of water again.

"Pervert!" she screamed.

Hao swam quickly towards the bank. "You're one difficult woman, Anna. 'Til next time," he waved goodbye before he disappeared in front of her in a blink of an eye. A few seconds later, Yoh's group came running towards her with heavy thuds of footsteps.

"We heard you scream Anna. What happened?" Yoh asked worriedly.

"I --- I slipped into the water. I was a bit exhausted and hungry…" Anna half lied. She couldn't understand herself for protecting his fiance's evil twin. _Why am I suddenly developing a soft spot for that freak_? She silently asked herself. Perhaps it's because he really didn't intend to attack her earlier.

"Maybe you should delay the soul purification ritual for tomorrow Anna. You look really tired and famished," Yoh suggested.

"Yes, I could do that," it was the first time Anna heeded Yoh's advice to everyone's surprise.

"Let's head back to the inn."

"Good thing you all came back early. Someone has been waiting for you," Faust VIII greeted Yoh and his friends by the inn's entrance.

"Tada! I'm alive and ready to kick some ass!" the tall shaman jumped out from the doctor's shadow.

"Ryuu!" the group ran excitedly to him.

"Welcome back to the human world my man!" Horo Horo gave him a high five.

"Wow! I've never expected you to recover so fast," Lyserg noted.

"I'm glad you're already awake," Jeanne smiled making Ryuu blush furiously.

"I think Tokagero did a good job shaking me out of my deep slumber. He's always haunting my dreams with his repulsive face," Ryuu sneered.

"You ungrateful ugly shaman," Tokagero appeared and playfully grabbed his neck.

* * *

**In the itako training center's library...**

"1975? I don't think Anna's already alive that time. Who is this girl who looked exactly like her?" Manta asked no one. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the library's door suddenly sliding open. Tamao was panting when she announced who had finally awaken. Manta immediately got up from his seat, slid the photograph into his jacket's pocket then ran excitedly outside.

"Ryuu!" he jumped and clung on to his tall friend's right leg as if it was a tree.

"Hey there little fellow," Ryuu took him and swung him around like a little child.

"This calls for a celebration," Yoh urged everyone to come inside. "I'll just drop a phone call to grandma to tell her the good news."

* * *

**At the Asakura clan's ancestral house...**

Kino bowed in front of an old-fashioned and very stiff group of four elderly shamans. They all wore grim faces as she told them of what happened back in Osorezan.

"Spiritually blinded?" the Asakura clan's matriarch who was visually impaired repeated her words. "You mean she lost her spiritual powers?"

"She temporarily can not use them Master Kiyone."

Another old lady who was sitting next to the blind woman scoffed at her. "There's no such thing as an itako losing her powers Kino. There's no sense in being an itako if she can't even see or contact spirits."

"You said the young Hao is still alive?" This time the family patriarch spoke to her.

Kino nodded.

"Your grandson is such a disgrace! The council of elders had especially chosen him for this important task being the next heir of the Asakura clan," another old man whom Kino identified as her husband Yohmei's little brother said with spite. "If my wife and son had lived then nothing like this could have ever happened. Where is Yohmei by the way? He should have been here with you so he can be properly lectured on family honor."

"Your wife died during childbirth, Yohmaru. Please respect their souls," Kino reminded him. "My husband is currently away with my son-in-law. They have an important mission which I refused to disclose to you."

"Watch your tongue old woman! You do not have any respect for the council."

"That would be enough Yohmaru," the patriarch stomped his cane.

"Yes father," Yohmaru lowered his head.

"The task of the future wife of the next heir is to ensure that he become powerful enough to bear the name of the clan and to become Shaman King. Your student may have been a failure by her own right," the matriarch said to Kino.

The other old woman smirked at this point.

"You know that I have doubted her appointment as your grandson's fiancée before because of her background," continued the blind lady. If she doesn't regain her powers soon, I'm afraid we have to strip her off her role to become the heir's future wife. Do you understand Kino?"

"Yes, Master Kiyone. How long are you giving us?"

"Until the full moon"

"But that will be in 2 days," Kino protested.

"Better hurry up then Kino," the other old woman gave her a fake smile.


	11. Confession

"I'm not sure if you're a monster or just some lucky guy, Ryuu," Horo Horo said after gulping another can of soda. He had three already that evening.

The gang was huddled in the private dining area of the Asakura itako inn for Ryuu's re-awakening party. Empty canned soda and chips were scattered all around the place ala Funbari Onsen's summer vacation party part two.

While the gang enjoyed themselves, Suzume and Anna both sat glowering in one corner of the room. Their master would kill them if she found out that her grandson and his friends had messed up the place. Suzume, in particular, felt guilty for taking part in this boisterous celebration. She had even helped Tamao buy some groceries from the shop at the foot of Osorezan as the gang trained all afternoon.

"I'm the strongest man in the world for all you know, Horo Horo," Ryuu grinned and flexed his arms.

"Don't be such a braggart. You're only lucky 'cause we arrived just in time to save your neck! Hao's spirit may not have the chance to absorb your furyoku completely." Ren sneered.

"Nonetheless, Ryuu was able to recover in just one day unlike the rest of the trainees who remained asleep until now. That is really something," Jeanne spoke with a hint of amazement.

The tall guy lovingly held the girl's hands while tears streamed down his face, "You really are my friend, Mistress Jeanne. I appreciate your commendations."

"I agree with you, Jeanne. You're such a downer, Ren. Can't you see that our guy here is a survivor?" Chocolove patted Ryuu's head like a dog.

"One thing's for sure though. It appears that Ryuu still possesses his spiritual senses," Faust VIII remarked which hushed everyone in the room.

"Oh yes, I haven't noticed that he can see Tokagero and other ghosts until now," Tamao thought out loud.

"I'm still examining the other victims whom I hope would wake up soon. No offense, Anna but I'm really baffled at your current situation," the doctor turned to the itako who was brooding at the corner. The group was all eyes on Yoh's fiance.

"It's a bit frustrating on my part as a doctor that I couldn't find any cure to treat your affliction if you may call it that way."

"What happened to Anna is really strange. No hard feelings Ryuu but I don't believe Anna has lesser spiritual strength than you for her to completely lose her powers," Lyserg admitted.

"The very reason I'm undergoing the Soul Purification Ritual is to gain them back," Anna stood up. "I better get enough sleep tonight for tomorrow's second try." The blond itako shot a glare at Yoh before leaving, "Better clean up this mess or else." Then she left the room and went to her own.

* * *

_He had always known the leader of the Patch tribe as a strong-willed man who made the right decisions all the time. He had always known him to be his father and master although they were never related by blood. He was found alone in the oasis and was adopted by the Patch tribe when he was very young. Ever since he was asked to be his apprentice, he had never left his master's side. That night he positioned himself behind him as his father convened the Patch council of elders' meeting. The village priest who was called Hao stood before them bearing some grim news of their neighbor tribe's demise._

" _I found her in the oasis. She was the lone survivor of the eastern shamanic tribe," he heard him say. The elders wore shocked faces upon hearing his words._

" _Are you telling us Hao that the entire tribe was wiped out completely?" one of the council members wanted to verify his understanding._

" _Yes, save for her," the priest_ confirmed.

" _Huh! The gods had punished them for their malpractices. They deserved it," another elder spoke with spite._

_The leader raised his wrinkled hand to silence everyone. "That would be enough. We are always known for being a hospitable tribe to friends and enemies alike." Then he waved at the guards on standby, "Bring our guest in."_

_The two warriors opened the door and motioned the girl to come inside. Her eyes showed fear as she faced the curious members. Hao let out a small smile to make her feel comfortable._

" _What is your name?" the old council head inquired._

" _I was called Anya by my father, Tiberium."_

" _I did not know my GOOD FRIEND Tiberium had a beautiful daughter." His apprentice chuckled behind his back for he recognized the sarcasm in the council head's voice. Tiberium and his master had been long time rivals._

" _He asked me to come here sir… to give this to you." Anya pulled the necklace from her neck and handed it over to the council head. The other elders gasped at the sight of the red pendant. They began murmuring things to each other but the girl who by then looked confused can only make out the words, "fire" and "powerful."_

_The council head furrowed his eyebrows as he looked intensely at the gem on the palm of his hand. After a few minutes, he breathed deeply which signaled the rest to stop whispering because he had finally come to a decision. "Of course, Patch village will be its new home as much as it will be yours."_

" _Master Aureum, she can't possibly stay here. We are all aware of what kind of tribe she once belonged to," the elder who made the spiteful remark earlier protested._

" _Yes, we have always known the eastern tribe for breaking some shamanic laws and engaging into malicious practices. Although Tiberium and I shared an argumentative relationship, our tribes had been fated by the gods to be forever allies. Their leader had entrusted his only surviving daughter and their guardian spirit to us. It is a crime to turn our backs on an old ally's death wish. You may go now, Anya. From now on, you belonged to the Patch village."_

_He then instructed his apprentice behind him, "Argon, please provide the assistance that she needs."_

"You seemed to be in a very deep thought," Hao approached his new spirit who was floating on the edge of a cliff overlooking a wide river.

"I was just reminiscing the days when I was still alive, Master Hao," Argon turned around to face him.

"The mind is really a wonderful work of art, don't you think? It lets you remember things from your past even if they are but 500-year old memories."

"Indeed Master Hao," the spirit replied then said to himself. _Although in your case, you can't recall a single thing._

"You said you have been my follower during my Patch tribe days. Can you help me remember who Anya is?"

"She was a very strong beautiful woman."

"The positive descriptions are fine but I need more than those."

"She was your wife."

Hao grinned. "Then my suppositions had been right. The girl whom you had haunted with 'fake' memories had been my reincarnated wife all along."

"Would you want her still even if you just rendered her powerless?"

"I will take everything my little brother owns but I will do it in a manner that would hurt him the most."

* * *

_It was night time but she radiated with loveliness. She wore a wreath of small blue violet flowers and a flowing white robe that was embroidered with gold thread forming intricate patterns. Two young girls accompanied her as she walked to a straw hut. The spacious candle-lit room only contained an aged Patch tribe member sitting behind a small wooden table and a kneeling man whose face was mostly covered by his long hair as he bowed in front of the elder._

" _Ahhh, she has finally arrived. We can start the ceremony," she heard the old Patch say._

_She knelt beside the bowed man but did not have the chance to peek at his face because the aged shaman who resembled Goldva in some ways started his rapid chant. The only words she had clearly heard came at the end of the long prayer, "The gods have now united you in body and soul. You are her husband and she is your wife. You can never be broken apart." The ceremony ended with the blowing out of the candlelight._

_The man swept her off her feet and carried her to a smaller hut. She instantly felt a blush creeping on her cheeks when she saw a mat inside. She closed her eyes as he gently laid her down and said, "We could do this some other time if you want to."_

" _I'm fine. I love you." She encouraged him to go on. She wanted to slap herself for giving in so quickly._

_The long-haired man then blew the almost consumed candle next to the mat. She felt him tracing her neck with soft kisses as he fumbled for the string of her robe. She slightly shivered as he began feeling her in places that nobody had dared to touch yet. She tried to peek at his face right in time for the full moon to rise from behind the clouds. It shone brightly by the window and revealed whom she had just wed earlier. To her horror, she saw Hao's evil youthful face looking hungrily at her, "I am your husband. I own you now!" She tried to push him away but his strong hands grabbed her own and shoved her deeply into the mat._

" _Yoh!" She started to yell for help but her mouth was immediately covered by the young Hao's own mouth._

* * *

"Anna! Anna! Anna!" Yoh shook his fiancé who was crying bitterly in her sleep. She was frantically pushing him away and whispering repeatedly, "Stop it! Help me Yoh."

"Anna, I'm here. Please wake up," he brushed away the tears forming in her eyelids then continued to shake her. Yoh rejoiced at the sight of his fiancé opening her eyes but all he got in return was a hard slap on the left cheek.

"Anna, what was that for?" Yoh grimaced in pain as he rubbed his swollen red cheek. He was getting way too many slaps in this inn.

"Yoh..." she whispered his name as soon as she realized she mistook him for someone else.

"I… uhhmmm… got up to pee and thought to check on you. I heard you calling for me in your sleep so I invited myself into your room… Sorry Anna…"

The itako began to cry again. "Yoh, we were married."

"Oh don't cry Anna. I'm sure we will be… errr… 6 years from now perhaps?"

"No, you don't understand. He was my husband."

"What are you talking about Anna? I'm confused. Who is your husband?"

"Your brother, Hao, he was my husband 500 years ago."

Yoh refilled the cup with warm milk and gave it to his fiancée. They were in the kitchen and the blonde itako was continuously sobbing and sniffing. Yoh felt like he was in a stupor. He had never seen Anna cry so bitterly.

"It was only a dream Anna… a very bad dream…"

"No, everything looked and felt so real!" Anna took out a napkin from the tissue holder and blew her nose. "They are my forgotten memories, Yoh and they are haunting me now."

"Then you can just completely forget them all over again." Yoh grinned sheepishly.

"It's like telling me to sleep with my eyes open, stupid!"

"Sorry…" Yoh scratched the back of his head. He paused for a while then asked curiously, "Errr…. Did you love him back then?"

Anna stopped sobbing and sniffing. The long silence was followed by a little nod. "I guess so… I wouldn't marry him if I did not."

"Ohh… yes, that's right…" her fiancé whispered and averted his gaze from her red swollen eyes. "Do you, do you lo-lo-lo-" he stammered inaudibly and couldn't find the courage to continue.

"Yoh, thanks for everything…" Anna blushed for she wasn't used to expressing her gratitude to him. "You can rest now in your room… I'll just sleep in the kitchen… I'm always having nightmares in my room…"

"I'll accompany you here. I haven't tried sleeping on the kitchen table yet. Besides, my room is crowded at the moment." Yoh cleared away the mug and the tissue holder then positioned himself on the table.

Anna gazed at his sleeping form. 

_I love you, Yoh…_

She couldn't find the courage to tell him.


	12. The Bearer of Bad News

Yoh thought he heard several familiar voices calling out his name. Someone was also gently tagging at his shirt coaxing him to wake up but he was too lazy to rise from where he was sleeping. He shifted to his left when he sensed that a crowd was forming on his right. The next thing he knew something cold hit his face which forced him to jolt up. A very annoyed Suzume was holding a bucket of ice cubes by his side. His friends and several smirking itako trainees surrounded him.

"Why are you sleeping on the kitchen table Yoh?" Manta peered at him curiously. He stood on one of the chairs on Yoh's right.

"You were sleepwalking again dude," Horo Horo folded his arms as if scolding him.

"Master Yoh, I believe we have designated a room for you to rest. Your presence here caused a delay in the preparation of the trainees' breakfast. Could you please transfer to your sleeping quarters?" Suzume requested sternly as she put down the bucket of ice on the kitchen sink.

"Oh sorry…" Yoh immediately went down the table. "Ammm… Where is Anna by the way?"

His friends nudged and gave each other knowing looks but preferred to remain silent except for one.

"There you go again… always asking for your fiancée. I'm beginning to think you're becoming a lovesick puppy," Chocolove said exasperated.

"I saw her leave the inn before sunrise. I think she's going to continue the soul purification ritual," Jeanne answered Yoh.

"And we should start training, too." Ren reminded them. "Ryuu will stay with Faust for the morning shift."

Yoh's stomach grumbled. "Err… can we eat breakfast first before training?"

"We can do that before we talk," Old Kino appeared by the door looking grim as ever. The itako trainees and Suzume greeted her with a bow.

"Grandma, you're back!" exclaimed Yoh.

"I tried to come here as soon as possible. The Asakura council of elders already passed a decision," the old woman had a gloomy aura around her.

"Ammm… They decided what grandma?" Yoh was becoming tensed.

Old Kino ignored Yoh's query and turned instead to Tamao, "Please find Anna. It is important for her to hear this."

* * *

Anna did not feel as hungry as she was yesterday. The first phase was going on fine and she was clearly sure that she'll be able to withstand it until this evening. A day of fasting and physical numbness was no match for her determination. She had done this before when she was still an itako trainee. Nobody graduates from the training center without passing the soul purification ritual.

However, her concentration was little by little betraying her. There were just too many voices in her head. She closed her eyes and tried to focus instead on the sound of water as it hit the rocks. In spite of this, it was difficult for her to let go of the things that have been bothering her these past few days.

" _I am your husband. I own you now."_

" _Did you love him back then?"_

" _He will just leave you like what he did to me before."_

" _You're just a defenseless ordinary human girl."_

" _The council of elders has the right to replace you."_

"Mistress Anna!" Tamao's worried voice resonated louder than everything else. "Mistress Anna! Mistress Anna!"

The itako irritably opened her eyes and glowered at Tamao, "I'm in the middle of a ritual, Tamao. If you would be so kind enough to LEAVE. ME. ALONE!"

"I'm sorry Mistress Anna but Master Kino told me to fetch you." Tamao cowered behind a large stone.

* * *

Nobody dared to make a sound or movement as Anna entered the room being occupied by her master, her fiancé and his friends. The blond itako noted that Suzume was absent from the usual gathering. She filled in the vacant seat beside Yoh right across Kino.

Yoh's grandmother rested her chin on her clasped hands as if in deep thought. Her mind was in turmoil at the moment. She didn't know how to begin. Everyone was all eyes on her, waiting to hear her important news. She sighed. Time is running out. They had to know whether they like it or not.

"It really pains me to say this…" the old woman started. "I had brought your current situation to the attention of the Asakura Council of Elders. They were not pleased at all with the continuing existence of the young Hao."

Yoh lowered his head in shame at the mention of this.

"They were also displeased with the result of his new spirit's attack on you, Anna. They were extremely unhappy about the heir's future wife losing her spiritual abilities."

Anna diverted her gaze on the table. Somehow she knew where this conversation was leading to but she's uncertain if she could readily accept her fate.

"They are giving you until the next full moon to regain your powers or..." Kino paused then breathed deeply, "...or you will be forsaken and replaced by the clan as the heir's future wife."

Everyone in the room gasped out loud except for Anna and her master. It was Chocolove who was the first to react, "Granny, you're kidding, right?"

Old Kino did not answer.

"How cruel! Why should it involve ruining their personal relationship?" asked Jeanne.

"Simply because the Asakura clan is protecting its lineage. The heir's task is to uphold the clan's power and position in the shamanic community. An ordinary wife won't live up to the ideals of the clan," Lyserg answered in behalf of Yoh's grandma although he looked as dismayed as everyone else in the room.

Yoh banged his fists on the table. "Grandma, if that's the case, I'm renouncing my position as heir of the Asakura clan."

"You can not do that foolish boy. There's no other heir but you," Old Kino rebuked him.

"Before this meeting, I'm beginning to admit that the Asakuras were far better than the Taos in terms of family relationships. But I was wrong. You are far worse. Your clan has such a loose way of thinking," Ren said with a tone of disappointment.

"I do not have the luxury of time, do I, Master Kino?" Anna calmly asked.

"Oh my god!" Tamao covered her mouth. "The next full moon is tomorrow night."

"Those heartless old geezers!" Horo Horo growled.

"They are asking for the impossible!" Ryuu cried in protest.

"The soul purification ritual will take 3 days. Even if I would undergo the ritual, there's no assurance that I will regain my powers." Anna stood up from her seat. "There's no point in continuing this conversation anymore. It will be a waste of time to stay here." She began to leave.

Yoh tried to stop her by grabbing her right wrist. "Anna, don't tell me you'll let this go?"

Anna forcefully twisted her wrist free but her soon to be ex-fiancé held it more tightly.

"Yoh, I'm no longer fit to be your wife. In fact, I'm happy that I'm not tasked anymore to train you everyday. Let me go. Now." There were no tears in her eyes. Only deep resentment. Yoh loosened his grip. Anna automatically pulled her hand away, turned around and headed for the door.

"Anna, don't leave this room yet." Old Kino called after her.

The blond itako did not look back, "Who are you to order me around? You are no longer my master," then proceeded to leave the room.

"Anna, wait!" Yoh began to follow her out.

But Old Kino stopped him, "Let her be. She needs to be alone for now."

* * *

Anna ran out of the inn crying furiously. It was dark and gloomy outside. Raindrops started splattering on the ground as if the sky was weeping along with her. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She did not know where she was going or where she would go to after this. All she wanted was to get as far away from the inn as possible. She had no other clothes but the black dress she was wearing. She even left her 1080 beads which was useless anyway since she couldn't summon spirits. She had no money or any belongings to buy food with. Her stomach was growling now. She had no known relatives or friends, no home to stay in for the rest of the day. Every intake of air was becoming laborious and exhaustion was beginning to overcome her. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. Her bitter tears were clouding her eyes for her to notice a protruding tree root. She tripped, fell and hit her head on a broken stone slab. Everything went dark afterwards.

"I was right, wasn't I?" the woman in the large mirror sneered at her. Anna found herself sprawled in front of the life size glass. With her remaining strength, she sat up so she was face to face with the blond lady.

"You poor girl. I told you he would also leave you but you did not believe me. Give me your hand. I will show you everything you need to know."

Anna pressed the palm of her right hand on the mirror so that their palms were touching. She felt her entire body being pushed inside the glass.

* * *

Everyone was quiet back at the inn.

 _It is so uncomfortable being here._ Manta fidgeted in his seat.

The lights suddenly went out as a lightning struck an electricity line somewhere. Tamao flicked the single lamp on the table open.

Despite the dim light, Ren's scowl was clearly visible to Jeanne who was sitting across him. "I wouldn't forsake my wife-to-be even if she becomes an ordinary human girl," the young Tao vowed. Somehow their eyes met at some point which Ren hurriedly averted. A little blush formed on his cheeks.

The room was starting to get cold because of the rainy weather outside. They all looked at Horo Horo to check if he was playing a prank on them by creating an icy atmosphere in the room. However, the blue-haired shaman remained lost in thought. Manta inserted his hands into his jacket's pocket to warm them and felt something made of paper. He took the flat object out and stared at the black and white class picture from the inn's library.

Chocolove who was sitting to his right, snatched the old photo from him. "Huh! What have we got here? Oh…. I thought it's a picture of your special someone." The Afro-American was a bit disappointed. "This looks and smells ancient Manta. Why are you keeping this with you?"

Ryuu who was sitting next to Chocolove peered at the old photo. "Wow, so many pretty girls! Hey, this one next to old Kino looks like Mistress Anna."

Kino stiffened from her seat. "Where did you get that? Give it to me!" there was panic in her voice.

Chocolove instantly handed the old photograph over to Yoh's grandmother. Manta spoke trembling, "I found it by accident in the library. It slipped from a book. I'm sorry for taking it from there."

Yoh peered at the photograph Kino was holding. "That girl beside you Grandma really looks like Anna. Who is she?"

Yoh thought he saw tears forming in his grandmother's eyes. "I've been the bearer of awful news today. Perhaps an old one might not hurt so much." Old Kino let out a sigh…

"The girl in the photo was an old student of mine. Her name was Ayako and she was Anna's mother."


	13. Anya of the Patch

_It was raining that day when she told him of the news. He had the sudden urge to shake her out of her wits and tell her she made the wrong decision but her eyes were so full of happiness._

" _We're going to get married tonight," she said excitedly._

_Those words drowned his heart in deep sorrow as the rain formed puddles of muddy water in his backyard. He had been secretly in love with her but his show of feelings went unnoticed. After four months of being good friends, he had finally realized that he had fallen for her but her eyes were already set on someone else._

" _Don't you think that's too rush, Anya?"_

" _No, it's the perfect timing. He said so himself. Master Aureum will be busy to entertain wedding requests like this since he will be focusing more on the Shaman Fight next year."_

" _Yes, and I heard your husband-to-be had volunteered to be an official."_

" _He said it was one of his long time dreams to serve as an official in the Shaman Fight. It only happens every 500 years."_

" _Anya, some of the council members are not comfortable with him. They say he is a man full of schemes. Are you sure you know him well enough for you to be his wife?"_

" _Yes, I know him to be a quiet and reserved person. There were times that I can not understand his mood swings but he slowly opened himself to me. He shared with me his childhood dreams, his fears, his ambition, the things he likes, the things he wants to do for the rest of his life. How can I believe what other people say if all I can see is his care for me?"_

_He felt like he had already lost her completely. Although he knew what she was going to answer, he still asked her anyway, "Do you love him?"_

" _Of course, I love him. I wouldn't marry him if I don't," Anya thought the question was rather silly._

_He felt his heart breaking again at the mention of those words. "Did he ever tell you that he loves you?"_

_Anya looked down at her feet to avoid his eyes. "He's too shy for words but he shows it," she said softly. "He is a very traditional man… never outspoken with regard to his feelings.."_

_Before he could stop himself, he had already enclosed her in a tight hug. "I love you Anya. I have loved you since the first day I saw you. Please think about it… Please choose me over him instead."_

_Anya gently pulled herself from his embrace. "Thank you for being a good friend to me and I love you for it… but from tonight onwards, he will be my life."_

"You seemed to be spacing out again, Argon," Hao noticed his spirit who was looking intently on the bonfire crackling between him and his master. They were staying in a cave at the moment, trying to warm themselves from the coldness of the rain outside.

"I just remembered something Master Hao but it is rather unimportant."

"I hope you're not wasting your energy on those antique memories of yours. You should prepare for tomorrow's great battle."

"I am always ready, Master Hao."

The long-haired shaman let out an evil grin as he stared at the burning flame.

"Be ready too, little brother. Everyone will witness your death tomorrow."

* * *

Anna was awaken by the smashing of porcelain followed by the wails of a baby. She found herself lying on a woven mat in a place which appeared to be a small bed room in a straw hut. The place seemed so familiar to her. It looked like one of the Patch Village hotels where they have stayed during the Shaman Fight. She immediately stood up and peeked at the cause of the disturbance outside.

There was this angry long-haired man who resembled Silva. He was apparently arguing with a woman who was already weeping. Pieces of a broken vase was scattered on the floor between them. The beautiful brown-skinned woman was gently swinging the small hammock containing the crying infant. Anna felt suddenly upset at Silva's lookalike for making his wife feel miserable. She was about to barge in to give the man one of her signature slaps but she stayed put upon hearing their next conversation.

"You're asking me to do the impossible, Hao," said the weeping wife.

"Why can't you help me, Anya? This is the only favor that I have asked from you. Your tribe owns the Spirit of Fire. You are the only person who is capable of freeing it."

"Our tribe does not own it. We are merely its protectors. The Spirit of Fire already found its way home in the Patch Village. Let it rest here, Hao. Besides, I do not know where the council is keeping it."

"That wouldn't be of any problem. I have already found it," the Patch Hao showed his wife a string with a red pendant. "They were keeping it in the council head's office."

The wife wore a shock expression and began to cry hysterically. "No, Hao! What did you do? You stole it, didn't you? The burning of Master Aureum's hut… You started the fire. Did you intentionally kill him, too? It was no accident after all... Hao, how could you?"

The husband let out an evil grin. There was no trace of remorse or guilt in his face. "I told the council that the Spirit of Fire had probably escaped killing Aureum in the process. Being unpopular that I am, they would not believe me that it finally awaken and left the council head's premises on its own unless it showed its face to them. If they found out that I've invented the whole story I would be tried and executed. Your son would no longer have a father. You would no longer have a husband to protect you."

"And you are no longer the man I married. Hao, what happened to you? I do not know you anymore."

"You know too well that my dream is to become the Shaman King. I'm going to resign from my current position as a Shaman Fight official and enter the competition. I can not do it without any partner Spirit. Do you understand that, Anya?"

"But if you appeared in the Fight with the Spirit of Fire they would suspect you for stealing it," his wife was confused.

"They will definitely suspect me but if I win the tournament, they would have no choice but to bow before me - bow before their new Shaman King."

There was no response but the wife's pitiful cries had already softened.

Patch Hao approached her and wiped the tears in her eyes, "Anya, do you love me?"

The wife whispered, "Yes, with all my soul."

"Then you will help me."

Anya finally nodded.

Patch Hao smiled and whispered in her ear, "I'm doing this for you and your son, remember that." Then he passionately kissed her on the lips.

Anna wanted to call out to Anya from behind the door. She wanted to scream at the Patch Hao for being a liar but she suddenly felt lightheaded as if someone just swept her off her feet. Darkness ensued afterwards.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Somebody left his fiancé alone in a dark forest," Hao folded his arms while staring at the unconscious Anna lying on the ground. "Everything is a cycle isn't it, Argon?"

His spirit floated beside him examining the itako sprawled on the soft earth. Her head was bleeding after hitting it on the broken stone slab. Her dress and hair was too dirty with mud.

"I found her again in this very place where I have first left her. Oh, little brother," Hao called to Yoh even if he was miles away. "I'm going to take now what was originally mine." He then lifted Anna and carried her back into the cave.

* * *

"Anna has a mother?" Chocolove blurted out in disbelief.

"Of course she has dummy! Everyone has. How else could she have been born here on earth?" Ren said exasperated.

"Where had she been all this years?" Yoh asked curiously.

"She's already dead," Old Kino murmured. A tear drop rolled down the old woman's left cheek. "She was killed by my own hands..."


	14. Kino's Secret

Manta felt clammy all over. There were too many shocking news and revelations that day that he did not know where to keep this one on his already bursting mind. Yoh's grandma as a killer was something really farfetched.

Old Kino continued telling her story when no one reacted to her statement earlier. Her grandson and his friends wore confused faces but nobody dared to interrupt her.

"Thirty-five years ago, I found a crying four-year old girl in a secluded place in Osorezan. The child was called Ayako and she had a very special gift. She had highly sensitive spiritual powers and she was apparently abandoned by her family because of these abnormal abilities. Like most of the forsaken girls, I took her into the newly-established Asakura itako training center. She became one of the best that the center had ever produced. Although mentors should never have favorites, I grew fond of the child and treated her as my daughter since I left my own Keiko most of the time to the care of her father in Izumo… I tried my best to be a mother to Ayako even sometimes forgetting that she wasn't really of my own flesh and blood, even breaking the barrier between student and master…."

The old woman closed her eyes and began to reminisce…

_Kino held a lamp and an umbrella and waited patiently outside the inn. The night had already set in and it was raining non-stop. Despite the spattering of cold rain drops, she was heating up with anger and was thinking of appropriate punishment methods for this one student who broke the curfew. She raised the lamp further out when she noticed a fast-approaching body in the form of a scurrying 10-year old girl._

" _Why are you late? Dinner had started." She scolded the panting child soaked in the rain as she pulled her towards the inn. She gave her a towel to dry herself up and a warm robe to wear. "Have you been to that place again?"_

" _Yes, Master Kino," the little girl nodded in embarrassment._

" _Ayako, how many times have I told you that there is nothing in that place that could point to you where your relatives are."_

" _But I want to find my real parents, Master Kino... I met someone there who can tell me about them."_

_Thinking that the child was having delusions, Kino knelt down in front of her and rested her hands on the child's shoulders. "Please stop this nonsense, Ayako. You should never believe in strangers. They left you there when you were very small. We're your family now and we love you even though we're not related."_

Old Kino sighed, "She kept on visiting the place where she was abandoned. It's as if she was looking for some clues to trace the whereabouts of her own family. These daily visits to that secluded part of Osorezan went on for years. I couldn't stop her from searching because she kept on telling me she knew someone who can relay information about her blood relatives. I was reluctant to support her in her quest because assisting her might mean losing her eventually. Yes, it was a bit selfish on my part and this was something I had dearly paid for."

"I tried to divert her attention from this endless search by training her to become an itako master so she could teach the new interns when she turned 18. I was successful in doing so. She graduated at the top of the class and possessed more advanced channeling skills than the rest of my apprentices. Everything went pretty well for five years until she met this man. He was a prominent young man who paid a visit to the temple on a regular basis at a certain month of the year. Each time he did, he would often seek the aid of an itako to contact his dead father. He seemed nice, well-off, and educated. The only draw back is that he is a normal human being. I never did agree to his and Ayako's blossoming relationship. Shamans must marry shamans as much as possible. It was like the law of nature, something that was imposed for logical reasons."

" _If I remember it clearly, your duties in the temple were over five hours ago," Kino folded her arms and wrinkled her forehead at the 23-year old lady who had just slipped quietly into the inn on the strike of midnight._

" _I'm marrying him, Master Kino," Ayako's eyes twinkled with happiness despite her master's intense disapproval of her lover._

" _This is absurd! You just met him a few months ago. Does that man know you well enough? Does he accept you for who you are? Does he have a deep understanding of what being an itako means? That you are not just any spirit medium whom he can ask to contact his dead loved ones?"_

" _We love each other, Master Kino. It's the only thing that matters," the student walked past her teacher then slid open her room. She stopped and sighed before going in, "If only you had a son, I would love to marry him to keep our ties bound. But we know too well that I can never belong to the Asakura clan. I wished to be part of my own family not just any abandoned girl who was adopted but bore no last name."_

Old Kino continued, "Ayako was firm about everything she decided on. She eloped with her lover and was never heard of for some time. She did come back after two months but she was not the person she used to be. I tried to coax her into telling me what had transpired during the time that she was away but she refused. She grew secretive and reserved even neglecting her duties as a trainer in the inn. I felt powerless since I couldn't do anything to help my apprentice recover from whatever trauma she experienced. What's more frustrating on my part is that she began visiting the place where she was abandoned once more. She would leave early in the morning and return late in the evening when everyone was already asleep. She continued this habit for months. I was not able to talk to her about it since I had to leave the inn as soon as I heard my husband's prediction of Hao's return. My daughter, Keiko was already 8 months pregnant that time. One night when I came back to the training center straight from Izumo, I waited for Ayako to come home to finally confront her. It was then that I've noticed her tummy had gone noticeably bigger.

" _I'm pregnant, Master Kino," Ayako began weeping bitterly._

" _Since when?" her master asked with a serious tone._

" _For three months already…"_

_Kino's eyes softened then gave her apprentice a warm hug and whispered, "Why are you crying? You should be happy you'll be a mother."_

" _I do not want this child. I do not want that wicked man's child. He refused to marry me when he found out that my spiritual abilities are real. He thought that my channeling at the temple was all for show. He said his friends will think of him as a crackpot and after he had his fill of me, he abandoned me in the streets to fend for myself. He can not accept the fact that I'm not normal."_

" _My dear Ayako, the child has nothing to do with the father's faults. You should not hate it just because its father had left you. I'll help you in any way possible I can to raise your child. I'm happy that my two daughters would finally become mothers."_

_The pregnant Ayako broke from her master's embrace. Between sobs she asked, "I heard some of the trainees talking about Master Yohmei's prediction. Are you going to kill your grandchild because he is Hao Asakura's reincarnation?"_

" _The council of elders had spoken… It is but my duty to uphold their verdict," Kino whispered sadly._

" _Then you should never lecture me on how to become a mother," Ayako pushed her master aside then hurried to her room._

"The next month, Keiko bore twin sons and you all know the rest of that story," Kino paused and looked at Yoh who was still keeping quiet throughout her revelation.

"Five months later, Ayako bore a lovely baby girl whom she named Anna. I was also at her side when she labored and gave birth but up to that very day, she remained resolute in giving the child away.

" _I do not want to raise that child here. Please find her perfectly normal parents. I do not want her to become a freak like me. Master, I heard you let your other grandson live. I'm sorry for implying that you're a bad mother…."_ Ayako's words resounded in Kino's mind at that moment.

"I tried to locate Anna's real father but failed. I heard that he left the country to marry the daughter of a rich foreign family friend. Luckily, I found a childless couple praying at the temple to their dead ancestors one day. They gladly accepted Anna and promised to take care of her. I thought Ayako would be happy that her daughter had finally found a family but she seemed less interested about the whole thing. She was getting enigmatic as time passed. She began withdrawing herself from people once more and stayed the whole day in "that" part of Osorezan again. A month after Anna's adoption, Ayako approached me with this really unexpected decision.

" _I want to train as a shaman in the Patch Village," the adult Ayako said with convicton. "Being a shaman would open more doors of opportunities for me Master."_

" _It's a totally different craft, Ayako. Itakos exist to help people. We are not trained for combat. Don't you want to be an itako master anymore?" Kino asked with disappointment in her eyes._

" _This is why we are weak. We're just made to support shamans but we can not defend ourselves alone. I want to be stronger, Master. Please let me go to the Patch Village."_

"It was a sudden shift in career. Nonetheless, I supported her decision because it would take her mind off things. It would also prevent her from coming to that place which I suspected had been driving her mad. When she left the center for the Patch village, I began my own investigation. I discovered ancient records in the inn's repository which accounted the life of Patch Hao's ill-fated wife during her stay in Osorezan. A shamanic village once stood on the current spot where the Asakura itako training center was built. It was said that Hao had left his wife and son in a secluded place in the mountain where they were found by the inhabitants of the village. They stayed there for months but when news of Hao's defeat by Yohken Asakura went around the Shamanic community, they immediately left for the Patch Village. I was not able to trace what had happened after they returned to the Patch. The last entry in the record was dated three months after they left the shamanic village and it only showed a detailed description of the burial ground of Hao's wife. The place where Suzume found Anna, the place where Ayako's parents have left her is the final resting place of Patch Hao's wife."

Manta was the first one to gasp. "Grandma Kino, do you think the person whom Anna's mother was referring to as someone who could tell her about her parents was -"

"Yes, Manta, it was the spirit of Hao's wife residing in that place," Kino confirmed his guess.

"That's very odd. Shouldn't she have gone to the after life considering she's more than 500 years old here on earth?" Lyserg thought out loud.

"That is a question that has yet to be answered," Kino said. "Going back to my story, Ayako came home looking as enthusiastic as ever because of the new techniques she had learned from the Patch.

" _How was your training at the Patch village?" Kino greeted her student who was gone for a long time._

" _I've learned a lot of things, Master Kino. Did you know that permanent spirit unity can render the shaman more powerful because he has full control of his partner spirit's abilities?"_

" _Nonsense, that's not possible and if it is, it would be very dangerous on the part of the spirit medium. Your mind and body will become unstable because it can not contain two souls for a long period of time."_

" _But Argon said a tribe who can successfully do the technique had prospered once."_

" _The fact that that the tribe does not exist anymore is a concrete proof of the technique's perilous effects. Who is this Argon anyway?"_

" _A friend I met in the Patch."_

" _Be careful with the people you meet, Ayako. You should not trust everybody. It would be better if you would look for a partner spirit who can support you as a friend not as a weapon."_

" _Oh, I already have someone in mind, Master."_

"Ayako met someone by the name of Argon who taught her how to merge souls permanently."

More gasps were heard from the audience.

"Do you think it's the same Argon that accompanies Hao now?" Jeanne asked.

"That's a big possibility," Ren answered her.

"What do you mean by merge souls permanently? Horo Horo wrinkled his nose. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Is it the same as our hyoi gattai?" Yoh inquired.

"No, it's a different technique. Spirit unity involves a temporary union of the shaman's and his guardian spirit's souls. This special technique she was talking about involved total permanent joining of two souls. It was too late when I found out that Ayako was planning to merge with the spirit of Hao's wife."

"She's crazy! Why would she want to do that?" Chocolove wanted to pull his Afro-hair because of frustration but hesitated when he realized it would ruin his style.

"That remains to be an unsolved mystery up to this very day," Kino said grimly. "I followed Ayako to her favorite place one fateful night. When I caught up with her she had already completed the ritual. As expected, it went totally wrong. The soul of Hao's wife had overpowered her own.

_Kino formed beads of sweat in her forehead. The person in front of her was no longer her student but a crazed woman laughing maniacally under the moon light._

" _I've waited for almost 500 years trying to free myself from this wretched place," the possessed Ayako with a deeper voice announced._

" _Get out of my student's body you evil spirit!" Kino stepped forward from the shadows and shouted angrily._

_Ayako let out a mischievous grin, "This girl had already committed her life to mine. She had such a poor weak soul. It was way too easy for me to trick her into following my orders as payment for some vital information regarding her blood parents. Now is the time to get back on the people who had hurt me. Since you're not part of the list, I'm going to leave you now." She turned her back on Kino and started to walk away._

" _Wait, I have stronger spiritual abilities than her which could amplify your own powers better. Please possess me instead and leave her be!" Kino pleaded._

_Ayako paused, turned around and examined her from head to toe, "You are already aging, woman but you're right. Your spiritual energy is far more powerful than this girl." She grinned wickedly, "Well then, if you insist…"_

_Kino saw the spirit of a Patch woman slowly floating out of Ayako's body. However, a hand from another spirit grabbed the Patch woman's arm and pulled her in. An angry scream followed. Kino heard Ayako's soft voice crying out to her amidst the shrieks coming from the other soul._

" _Master Kino, I'm sorry for being such an awful headache. I'd like you to promise me one thing… If ever you meet my daughter someday, please accept her into your family just the way you did for me."_

_Kino nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. She began to perform a soul sealing technique which she used to tame evil spirits._

" _Kill me now. The only way to liberate this body is through death." Ayako was weeping and writhing in pain at the same time._

_A burst of white light surrounded Ayako intensifying her agonizing screams. Two balls of light - one was red the other black came racing out of her mouth. When they merged into one dark ball the white light which had been encircling Ayako consumed the dark ball and descended on a stone slab behind her motionless body. The sealing technique was finished._

_Kino hurried to her fallen apprentice and cradled her dead body in her arms. She brushed off the long blond hair covering her face as she wept, "Anna will belong to the Asakura clan from now on, I promise."_


	15. Reawakening

_There was a big celebration in the village that night. The Shaman Fight had come to a conclusion which meant the ending of the busy months for the Patch tribe. Although no king was declared, everybody was joyous because the biggest threat that ever existed had been successfully exterminated. The man, Yohken Asakura, who should have been Shaman King if not for his untimely death was able to defeat his greatest foe. The original Hao was said to be a member of the famous shamanic clan, the Asakuras. They said Hao was the reincarnation of one of the Asakura clan members who sought the annihilation of ordinary humans. They said also that he had the ability to reincarnate himself whenever, wherever and whomever he chooses._

_While everybody drunk and danced around a huge bonfire, Argon withdrew himself from the crowd. He walked towards his hut pondering on the recent events that took place in his life. He had lost both the man he had known as father as well as the woman he had loved to an evil priest who had just died recently. Justice had been served but he was not entirely happy. He couldn't bring his father back and his one true love was far away - never to be heard of until he flicked open the lamp to illuminate his hut. There she was sitting on his straw bed and crooning a little infant to sleep._

" _Anya, you're back!" Argon hurried to her and enclosed her in a tight hug._

" _I've come back to see my husband or what remains of him…." The woman broke from the embrace and closed her eyes as tears began to flow down her cheeks._

" _They threw his body out in the desert. I tried to convince the council for his proper burial but they objected."_

_The young woman let out a bitter sob upon hearing the inhumane decision of the tribal council._

" _Why did you come back, Anya? He left you there to save you. You and your son are in grave danger here."_

" _I want to be closest to Hao as much as possible and my home is here Argon. There's nowhere I could run to."_

" _Up to the very end, it is Hao that you still longed for…" Argon's voice trembled with hurt. "Although my father made very unpopular decisions, the council always respected him. But alas, my father is gone because of your husband…" Anya lowered her head in shame and despair. "Nonetheless, I will fill in the position and will try my best to persuade the council to let you stay here."_

Argon brushed off the hair covering the fainted girl's face before he placed his right palm over her bleeding forehead. His master, Hao Asakura had laid her by the bonfire so she can be dried without removing her clothing. The shaman had ordered him also to heal her wounds before retreating into the deeper part of the cave. It was a rather odd instruction coming from Hao since he was enemies with the itako and her friends.

 _Hao must have liked this girl really well._ Argon thought. He remembered the first time Hao showed him a picture of the girl he was going to haunt in her sleep. There was a great resemblance between Anna Kyouyama and the troubled young woman who came to him 15 years ago. Argon smiled when realization had dawned on him. _This is her fate. Ayako's daughter would continue her unfinished business._

Anna's wounds had finally healed. Argon stared at her tear-stained cheeks and caressed them lovingly. _Anya, it's been more than 500 years since we last saw each other. We will never part again…._

* * *

Anna jolted upwards when she heard angry shouts coming from outside. She was lying on a straw bed in one of the Patch village huts again although this one was smaller than the previous. There were no divisions or rooms much like a bachelor's pad in the current days. She felt a bit dizzy and there was a throbbing ache in her right temple. She went to the hut's entrance and hid behind the wooden door so nobody could spot her snooping around. She saw again the young woman called Anya crying hysterically while being held firmly by a man who looked a lot like Hao's new spirit, Argon.

"It's true. We have been investigating and documenting Hao's atrocities for the village repository," Anna heard the man say. "It all made sense. Hao was out in the desert the night when your whole tribe was murdered."

"But it couldn't be… How come he helped me? He could have just killed me in the oasis," Anya was trembling all over.

"You possess something that he wanted."

Anya covered her mouth. "The spirit of fire…"

"No, the power to call forth the spirit of fire from the gem and the ability to merge souls permanently."

The woman howled and dropped to her knees. "He used me. He used me all along!"

The man gently pulled the hysterical woman up. "Although you helped him awake it, it was wise for you not to merge him with the Spirit of Fire. Otherwise, he would have become more destructive."

"I was against it because I was afraid it would make him unstable."

The man did not respond for a while as if gathering enough courage for what he was about to say next. "Anya, they are going to pass a judgment tonight…." He clenched his fists as he breathed deeply, "Because of your involvement with the recent events, they have decided to punish you…"

Anya did not show fear in her eyes. "Why are you telling me this, Argon?"

"Because they asked me to do the one thing I could never do to the woman I love. They want you dead by my own hands." He dropped to his knees begging, "Anya, please leave this place. I will come with you. We will escape tonight before they come here."

The woman remained silent while she stared down at the weeping man. Her eyes reflected an unexplainable coldness - a resignation to her fate. It was her turn to slowly pull up the man whom she considered her one true friend from his pitiful state.

"What about my son? What's to become of him?" she asked.

"The council will let him live. It is against the law to kill an innocent child. We will take him along with us. I'll treat him as my son as my father Aureum had treated me as his own."

"What time will they come here to check?"

"At exactly 3 hours before midnight. I should have done the atrocious deed before they come."

"Then fetch me half an hour in your hut before they come. I need to do something first…"

Argon kissed her at the forehead as he felt relieved. "Thank you Anya for choosing to leave with me."

Anna felt her world spinning as the images before her melted into nothingness. She was again woken up by the yells for help of the man whom she confirmed earlier as Argon and the wails of a baby beside her. She immediately sat up from the straw bed only to find a gruesome scene. Argon was holding a very weak Anya in his arms. There was a pool of blood around them which had begun to coagulate. Anya's two wrists were slit open. Beside them was a crude blood-stained knife which the Patch people use in the kitchen.

"Why did you do this Anya?" Argon held to her tightly. His whole world had entirely collapsed.

Anya was whispering to him with the last strength she got. "I'm sorry Argon. As much as I wanted to, I don't think I could love you now that my heart is full of hatred. It is clamoring for nothing but revenge. I will follow Hao to his grave. I will follow him wherever he goes." Anya coughed out blood as she reached to touch Argon's face. "Will you help me?"

Argon nodded and held her hand. He then laid his finger on her forehead which emitted a green light. Anya smiled at him and whispered with her last breath, "Please bury me at Osorezan."

Argon wept silently and kissed the lifeless woman on her forehead. "Your memories will stay with me Anya until we meet again."

Anna was overwhelmed with grief. She sank to her knees and could feel deep sympathy for the woman who loved the most terrible man in the world. The itako's eyes turned blank. "I will also help you exact your revenge."

* * *

Argon gently caressed the young girl's cheek as he wiped the streaks of mud from her face. His right hand froze in mid-air when the blonde itako suddenly blinked her eyes open. He waited and readied himself for whatever attack the girl might do but instead of giving him her killer glare, she let out a smile.

"Welcome back Anya," the Patch spirit smiled back.


	16. Possession

Tamao handed Old Kino a box of tissue paper from one of the small cabinets in the room. She had managed to find it despite the dim light emanating from the oil lamp in the middle of the table. The old woman took one sheet and gently blew her nose with it. This went on for quite a while until a pile of wet tissue paper formed in front of Old Kino.

Yoh fidgeted in his seat the whole time. He couldn't decide on whether to rub his grandmother on the back to ease her of her long-kept pain or not. He wasn't used to showing feelings of love and care in their family. The Asakuras were more concerned with their clan's quest to take the leadership of the shamanic community and to stop Hao, one of their descendants from destroying all non-spiritual humans. The burden was already put on Yoh's shoulders the moment he was born into the world. When he was very little, he sometimes regretted being the heir because everybody was pushing him to work hard. That's why his resolve was to become Shaman King so that he wouldn't be subject to any pressure from the clan anymore. He would be able to live a very easy life. When Anna came into the picture, his resolve became stronger because he wanted his wife-to-be to live an easy life after all the hardships she'd been through.

When Old Kino finally calmed down, she began talking once more, "Eight years after Ayako died, I found her daughter Anna at the temple. I assumed the couple who adopted her found out she had inexplicable abilities and returned her there out of fear. It was fate that led her back to her original home. I must admit Anna was more difficult to handle than her mother. She had inner issues of her own which she didn't want to share. Nonetheless, she was a very talented trainee. When the council had instructed us to look for Yoh's bride-to-be, I immediately recommended her. At first, the elders did not approve of her knowing her background but I managed to convince them by boasting her spiritual abilities and channeling skills."

"That's why when she lost them the council of elders was quick to renounce her," Ren said between gritted teeth. He couldn't get over the injustice done to his friend's fiancée yet.

"On the contrary, my boy, I believe she did not lose her powers," Old Kino stated firmly. Everyone in the room looked at each other with confused faces.

"What do you mean grandma?" Yoh asked. He observed that his beloved grandmother loved to spill out bewildering revelations minute by minute.

"This maybe the right time to tell you this…," Old Kino said in a serious tone. "Suzume reported to me the other day that the memorial, Anya and Ayako's tombstone in the form of a stone slab was broken."

Manta gasped, "The soul of Anna's mom and Hao's wife, it -!"

"It broke free." Old Kino finished the sentence for him. "The strange thing about it is that I surrounded that stone with an invisible barrier so that nothing can physically destroy it. Only a powerful spiritual force can break through the barrier and crack the stone apart."

"Hmmm… Anna told us that Argon had almost completely sapped out her furyoku in that part of Osorezan that night… The transfer of furyoku could have created a great spiritual force," Jean suggested.

"So the soul of Hao's wife/Anna's mom released itself from its imprisonment in a stone slab. What could have possibly happened next?" Chocolove was getting excited.

"The most probable thing that could have happened is that the soul settled on the most available human body she can find," Old Kino answered him at once.

"So the merged soul took over the body of the unconscious Anna. After all, it was attracted to her because it was her mother - or rather a part of it was Anna's mother," Lyserg continued the story.

"You are truly a very bright young lad," Old Kino beamed at him.

"Wait, you mean to say Anna was possessed by the spirit of her mother/Hao's wife?" Horo Horo sounded baffled.

Yoh's grandma nodded. "It's what I really think so."

"But she did not look possessed, Master Kino," Tamao pointed out. "It didn't look like another soul took over her body. Mistress Anna acted completely normal all this time."

"Perhaps common people and other types of shamans have a different understanding of the word 'possession.' In the jargon of itakos, possession and channeling are two different things. When a soul momentarily enters the itako's body, the itako is merely channeling that spirit's thoughts and feelings. It would seem to other people that the soul is possessing her when in fact the soul is just speaking through her and the itako may still have the full capacity of her mind to purge the spirit out of her body. However, when an itako fails to realize that another soul had crept into her, real possession would take place. Then the foreign soul will have the freedom to completely control her mind and body as well as use her abilities to its own liking."

"It's like a reverse hyoi gattai or spirit unity because the medium didn't allow the soul to temporarily merge with him," Ren folded his arms in deep thought.

"That's what happened to me and Tokagero when we first met," Ryuu scratched his chin.

"Yes, that is a good analogy. However, complete possession usually takes time. Only when the itako had subconsciously allowed the spirit to access her thoughts will complete possession happen," continued Old Kino.

"But Anna is a smart girl, she wouldn't allow any strange spirit to overpower her," Yoh reasoned out.

"It is during our depressed state that we are at our weakest," Old Kino bowed her head.

Everybody stared at one another in alarm. It was Yoh who jumped off his chair first, "Oh shit! I got to find Anna before she would completely succumb to that spirit's wishes."

The young Asakura ran to the door and fumbled for the slit with his fingers to slide the wooden door open but somebody was too fast to do the task for him. Yoh felt he almost had a heart attack. He was met by a tall well-toned man with a bird mask from the other side of the opened door. An old man with a balding hairline in the middle stepped out of the shadows.

"Father! Grandpa!" Yoh exclaimed.

"You seemed to be in a hurry my grandson," Yohmei observed as he entered the room and scanned everyone's faces. Yoh's dad, Mikihisa followed him quietly.

"I'm going out to look for Anna. She's in grave danger!" The word 'worry' was written all over Yoh.

"Before you go out and kill yourself my grandson you should listen to this first." Yohmei settled on Yoh's seat next to his wife. Mikihisa stood in a lonely corner of the room --- his bird mask seemed to be floating in the darkness giving Manta several chills down his spine.

"But Grandpa…" the young Asakura insisted.

"I suggest you stand still, Yoh. We have three dangerous enemies before us," a deep voice came out of the floating bird mask in the corner.

"Don't be too agitated. Listen to your father," Old Kino beckoned him to stay away from the door. Yoh approached the group and sat on the vacant chair next to Ren.

"How was your trip Yohmei?"

Yoh noticed a slight tinge of fondness in his grandma's eyes when she asked her husband.

"We rushed here as soon as we took hold of this," the old man removed from his robe an ancient-looking bundle of smelly brownish yellow paper bounded with a string.

* * *

Anya sat up on the ground where she was laid. Her clothes had already dried and she loved the warmth coming from the crackling bonfire. She felt literally alive again. She ran her fingers through her damp short blonde hair and examined her thin mud-stricken arms and legs. _This girl is too frail for me_. She couldn't help but comment on the new body she had found for herself. She gently patted her temples which were not throbbing with pain anymore. Then she smiled thankfully at the translucent Patch spirit ogling at her. She was about to say something to Argon when Hao's voice echoed cockily from her back.

"So the runaway bride is awake."

Anya stood up and brushed the dirt from her black dress. _It's time to do the final act._ She turned to face him with her arms folded across her chest. "I'm not going to thank you if that's what you want." She heard herself say in the young itako's irritated voice.

"Did the Asakuras kick you out my dear? You're always welcome here," the long-haired shaman approached her slowly until they were a ruler apart from each other.

"It's none of your business Hao. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the inn." She stormed past him but he immediately grabbed her arm.

"You are not going anywhere, Anna."

"Let me go. Who are you to order me around?" she flashed him the itako's killer glare.

"Well for one thing, you were my wife of long ago," he smirked at her.

"So now you expect me to follow your command because I was your wife more than 500 years ago," she chuckled for a minute but her face showed rage afterwards. "You don't even remember your past wife's name, Hao. I'm sure she experienced hell with you." She tried to pull her arm away from him but he held on to it more tightly and more painfully. _Break this girl's arm all you want for all I care_. Anya smirked to herself while displaying a frightened Anna.

"Hao, you're hurting me," she pleaded softly.

"What belonged to me 500 years ago still belongs to me." He yanked her towards him, held the back of her head with his other arm and crushed his lips into hers.

The blonde itako broke free from the harsh kiss and slapped him hard with her Legendary left.

A red mark was beginning to form on the long-haired shaman's right cheek. Hao grinned widely nonetheless. "I thought you were enjoying it."

"You're the most despicable creature that ever lived!" she wiped her lips several times to get rid of Hao's taste.

"Admit it. You like this despicable creature in front of you more than your weak fiancé who got no balls to fight for you." That struck a chord. _Well, at least to the real Anna._ Anya was fighting the urge to snigger.

"Even if you run away Anna, you have no place to go. Why soak yourself in the rain outside? This cave is big enough for the two of us to stay for the night." Hao proposed.

The blonde itako walked to the other side of the cave across Argon and sat there. "Ok, but don't touch me or I'll make sure you'll be the same as your twin brother --- with no balls and all."

"That is a threat I'll have to take seriously," Hao grinned and sat by the bonfire.

* * *

Anna opened her eyes and found herself descending slowly into oblivion. There were a lot of small glass mirrors of varying sizes floating in the darkness which reflected different scenes in her life. She tried to grab one which showed Yoh's ten-year old face but it vanished as soon as she touched it. She was starting to think that she was falling into a bottomless abyss when she finally landed on soft ground.

"What are you doing here?" a voice called out from her back.

Anna turned around and saw a woman sitting on the ground who was busily braiding her long blond her. The young itako was amazed at how the woman had noticed her without glancing her way. She was sure that the lady in front of her was the lady in the mirror. However, the woman was wearing an itako's uniform instead of the usual Patch tribal dress.

"You looked different from before." Anna told her.

"This is the first time we met," said the woman without removing her gaze from her braids.

Anna noticed that the woman's eyes were dull with unfathomable sadness. _She must have been suffering from inside_. Anna thought.

"We always had conversations… in my dreams most of the time," Anna couldn't help but feel comfortable towards this snobbish woman.

The blond lady did not say anything and continued braiding her hair until it was almost finished.

"My name is Anna Kyouyama by the way," the young itako tried to befriend her. This was something she rarely did with other people.

The woman immediately lifted her head at the sound of her name and fixed her eyes on the young itako.

Anna couldn't understand the welling feeling of familiarity in her. The woman's eyes sparkled with tears as she stood up and held her hands.

"My name is Ayako. I'm your mother."


	17. The Revenge of An Angry Soul

"Is that a bunch of rotten-smelling paper that had been soaked in baby's pee?" Chocolove asked with extreme disgust at the object Yohmei had taken out from his robe.

"You've got such a wild imagination young lad," the old man sweatdropped. "Anyway, this is the journal of an ancient tribal leader of the Patch by the name Aureum. In order to defeat our enemies we must know their backgrounds first. This journal here contains all the information we need." Yohmei raised the bundled papers higher for everyone to see.

"So that bunch of rotten-smelling pee-soaked old papers is the key," Horo Horo said in awe.

"As soon as Kino told me that the seal containing Hao's wife and Ayako's merged soul was broken and that Hao had returned with a new spirit, Mikihisa and I went to visit the Patch Village to do some research. The current tribal chief Goldva was well-versed when it comes to Patch history. She held vital information that had been kept secret through centuries. She only agreed to tell us the details if we let her see Mikihisa's face behind the bird mask."

Yoh's dad cleared his throat from the corner. "Master Yohmei, I believe that's not a necessary part of the story."

"As I was saying," the old man continued, "Goldva agreed to lend us Aureum's journal on the condition that Mikihisa will return it to her after 3 days. That old Patch woman must have a crush on your father, Yoh."

"Yohmei! Please stop telling insignificant details." Old Kino punched her husband in the head. Everybody sweatdropped at the embarrassing sight.

"Sorry Kino…" Yohmei rubbed his balding head.

Manta snickered to himself. _If ever they would end up together, Yoh and Anna would be like these two old people._

Yohmei straightened himself up and continued, "Goldva also related to us the story of the five guardian villages. Not many shamans knew about this," he paused to check on everyone's eagerness level. All of his audience seemed to be listening attentively to his tale.

"According to Goldva, five shamanic tribes prospered once around the Patch Village. Each tribe served as guardians to the five elemental spirits: fire, rain, wind, earth and thunder. Nobody from these five tribes could match the dominant Patch clan who guarded the entrance to the Great Spirit's dwelling. Despite the blessings they received from each of their elemental spirits, these five tribes hungered more for power. They secretly formed an alliance to revolt against the Patch Village so they can gain access to the Great Spirit. However, their plans were foiled by the young healer Aureum who saw a vision from the Great Spirit warning him of his clan's possible destruction. He was personally endowed by the Great Spirit with a gift which he described in this journal as the gift to manipulate souls using furyoku. It was a very powerful technique which allowed him to absorb and transfer spiritual energy. He can absorb completely the furyoku of a shaman and kill him out of spiritual exhaustion then he can transfer his newly gained furyoku to another shaman and have the full control of that person's soul whenever he pleases."

"That sounds scary," Manta shivered.

"This Aureum guy, is he related to Argon? He seemed to be displaying the same ability," Lyserg thought out loud.

"That's a good observation boy. Aureum was a kind-hearted man and was against killing his co-shamans from the other five villages. Aside from his pro-life convictions, he also had personal motives of his own. He had a secret affair with a woman of the south eastern shamanic tribe during his training years as a healer there. Before he left for his own village, he had a son from an illegitimate affair with the tribal chief's daughter. The boy was named Argon-"

"Damned I was right with my guess!" Yohmei was cut by a loud Chocolove. The Afro-American raised his closed fist in triumph.

"However, the Great Spirit had already passed the judgment. Aureum must set aside his convictions and do its bidding or the whole world would suffer from the other villages' evil plots," Yohmei continued. "The first village he destroyed was that of his ex-lover's and his son's. Being once friends with this tribe, it was easy for him to move about the village that night as he began absorbing the furyoku of each of the tribal council members under everyone's noses. Before he left the soon-to-be-destroyed village, he implanted his own furyoku on the tribal chief disguising it as a cure for his recurring headache. He stole the Spirit of Rain to be safely guarded in the Patch village and took his four-year old son whom his lover had introduced to everyone else as her slave's child. As he traveled back to the Patch, he was already manipulating the chief's body and mind. After the murder rampage around the village, the chief took his own life."

"So he let the strongest person who is the tribal chief do the murder for him, ingenious!" There was a hint of admiration in Ren's eyes. The Tao received weird stares from his friends afterwards.

"The whole tribe was wiped out in one night. The Patch tribal council who knew about Aureum's vision welcomed him back and made him the youngest council head. Argon was introduced to them as a lost boy in the oasis whom he would adopt as his son. The next three years were peaceful because the remaining four villages might get suspicious if the annihilation would occur simultaneously. During those years, Aureum taught his son Argon the technique to manipulate furyoku which the boy used to heal wounded clan members. The young lad was grateful to him for treating him as his son when in fact he really was of his own flesh and blood. Deep inside Aureum felt ashamed of his god-given task to destroy the five villages. He couldn't admit to his son that he was the one responsible for his tribe's genocide. This journal contained a detailed account of Argon's training which he personally supervised. It was written here that his son was a natural born haunter, too."

"You mean he can induce nightmares or haunt a person's dreams? This Argon guy is really giving me the creeps!" beads of sweat formed in Horo Horo's forehead.

"Yes, you're right about that. Being the talented shaman that he was, Argon also developed the skill to draw out, copy and transfer a person's memories and use them to haunt that person or another in his dreams. He was the only shaman I know who was capable of doing that."

"Memories are but a powerful weapon because techniques and abilities can be replicated just by recalling how they were done or perfected by someone," Mikihisa clarified.

"That's why he was able to copy my oversoul!" Ryuu exclaimed.

"Aureum knew of his son's potential so when he continued his quest of annihilation, he used his naïve son's haunting abilities. Argon would unknowingly induce nightmares to the tribal council members so that when they woke up, they would kill each other out of rage." Yohmei paused to take several deep breaths. _Boy, even telling a story is tiring me so easily._

He resumed when his breathing normalized. "By the time Argon was 24 years of age, only one of the five tribes was left. They were known as the eastern shamanic tribe, guardians of the spirit of fire. Argon was already a full-pledged healer and haunter. He refused to follow his father's bidding when he finally realized that he was being controlled by Aureum to destroy a whole community. The old tribal chief leader then tapped the village priest, Hao whom he knew was quite interested in the remaining elemental spirit. He sent Hao to pass the final judgment on the eastern shamanic tribe who were known for their permanent soul merging technique on the promise that he gets to keep the Spirit of Fire. Only the village chief's daughter named Anya managed to escape bringing along with her their tribe's guardian spirit. She was found by Hao in the oasis and on the pretense that he had nothing to do with the murder of her clan, brought her to the Patch Village. She later became Hao's wife and they had a son."

Everybody wore shock faces except for Manta, Tamao and Jeanne.

"The Spirit of Fire was said to be reduced to its dormant state by the eastern shamanic clan when Hao found it. Personally, I was confused because for a clan who was seeking domination, sealing its guardian spirit in a gem was utter madness. Nonetheless, Anya was the only existing human who can unseal and wake up the Spirit of Fire. She did actually but the whole history of that specific shaman fight in which Hao participated with the Spirit of Fire was not documented in this journal because Aureum had already died." Yohmei flipped open the bounded papers and showed them what was written in the last page.

* * *

**Inside Hao's secret cave...**

Anya kept on glancing at the smirking long-haired shaman. She was not sure if he was looking intently at the bonfire or if his gaze just went through the burning flame to watch her from afar. _He looks like a child but acts like an adult. His eyes are still cold and his smiles wicked. He really is Hao. Only now, he was born to his original clan._ Anya recalled her last conversation with her husband before he left them at Osorezan. She could clearly remember Hao's words as they trekked the mountain trail to where he would eventually leave them.

" _The Asakura heir will be my toughest competitor in the Shaman Fight. He would seek to destroy me but I won't let him. It was a wrong move for me to be reincarnated among the Patch people in the first place. I did not foresee that my original clan would be a big hindrance to my plans. If I fail, at least I know my heir would be safe here. It's time to return to the Asakuras if ever that happens."_

"Staring is rude you know."

Anya was distracted by the young Hao who sneered at her by the bonfire.

The itako raised an eyebrow, "It's you who can't take your eyes off me." Anna Kyouyama surely had an air of nastiness about her. Anya was beginning to like her newfound personality.

"And what if I really can't?" Hao stood up and walked towards her. He then sat in front of her and continued gazing with interest as if she was a very rare species of insect.

"I'm starting to notice that you have an undeniable attraction towards me Hao." Anya tried to tease him but she felt a bit jealous that her former husband seemed to have the eye for this frail girl.

Hao chuckled. "Were you always this straight forward to my twin brother? Oh pardon me, I bet he couldn't say how much he likes you because he's frightened of you. I wonder if he can stand against you when you face each other tonight."

Hao grabbed his brother's fiancée, pulled her up by the arm and turned to his new spirit, "Argon, I changed my mind. Our main weapon came to us unexpectedly. We will attack tonight."

"Yes, Master Hao," Argon closed his eyes and concentrated. The evil shaman enjoyed the itako's sudden transformation from a frightened to a stiff emotionless girl. They were all set for a second battle.

* * *

**At the Asakura itako training center...**

"He was very angry at me." Yoh read the words aloud from the last page of Aureum's diary.

Yohmei rubbed his chin, "I'm guessing that the Patch tribal chief was referring to Hao because he did not fulfill his promise to him. Hao had to steal the Spirit of Fire from Aureum killing the latter in the process. This journal was saved from the burning since it was safely stashed away in the underground storage of Aureum's hut which is now Goldva's office by the way."

"What happened after Aureum died?" Tamao whispered audibly from her seat.

Yohmei answered her at once, "This time we will focus on Anya, Hao's unfortunate wife. The rest of her story was documented by the Asakura clan with the help of the village people who once populated Osorezan. Hao had apparently left his wife and his son here in the holy mountain but they went back to the Patch after hearing of Hao's death."

"But the last entry in the record only accounted the burial of Anya here. It did not mention what happened when they returned to the Patch village," Old Kino reminded her husband.

Yohmei grinned mischievously. "Goldva was reluctant to disclose further information with regard to Anya but I was able to convince her using Mikihisa." His wife rendered him another hard punch.

Yohmei continued while rubbing his swollen cheek, "The Patch tribal council passed on a judgment to have Anya killed because she woke up the Spirit of Fire in turn becoming an accomplice to Hao's evil plot. It was Argon who was tasked to impose the death penalty. However, he wasn't able to do so because Anya had committed suicide. Her body was eventually buried in Osorezan. Argon was tried by the council for treason afterwards. He was planning to let Anya escape but failed because the latter had already killed herself. Death penalty was also imposed on Argon."

Teary-eyed Ryuu blew his nose with a tissue paper. "Such a sad story like Romeo and Juliet…"

"Goldva felt that Argon's and Anya's spirits stayed for centuries so they can exact their revenge on the Patch people for their misfortune," Yohmei closed his eyes as a sign of sympathy to the two ill-fated souls.

Something was bothering Lyserg though as he clasped his hands in front of him in deep thought. "I'm trying to connect Anya and Argon's tragic story to Ayako's. Master Kino, you said that Anya tricked Ayako into merging with her so she could seek revenge. Why did Argon bury her in Osorezan in the first place? Would it be logical for Anya's spirit to linger near the Patch so that she could easily exact her revenge on the tribe who once oppressed her?"

Nobody was able to reply to Lyserg's question because a loud scream which sounded like Faust was heard from the inn's clinic afterwards.

* * *

Anna backed away from the blond woman whom she had known as the lady in the mirror. Her mind wasn't conditioned to believe everything she heard but her heart was tuned to accept it as the truth. "Stop telling lies. My parents left me to die in Osorezan."

"They were your foster parents. I'm your real mother," the woman removed a hair strand from Anna's face. "Master Kino had you adopted on my instructions," she diverted her gaze momentarily as if in shame.

The young itako slapped her hand away. "I have known no other parents since I was little. It was the Asakuras who adopted me."

Ayako covered her mouth as she fell to her knees and wept. "So Master Kino had fulfilled her promise…"

"Look, you've been talking a lot to me in my dreams. Don't go acting as if it's the first time you knew me and don't go telling me that I'm your daughter. You are just my past persona."

"That's what she made you believe."

"Who made me believe what?" Anna said irritably.

"Anya. Her name was Anya. She was an angry soul. We are of one spirit but I am not her. She tried to erase me from existence but she couldn't because I held on to my memories of you," Ayako squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

Anna was not sure if it was the lady or her who was getting mad in that dark place. She slowly backed away from the weeping woman.

"She hid me into the inner depths of her being." Ayako gasped when she finally realized the gravity of her daughter's situation. "No, she couldn't have possibly sent you down here, too?"

"I wanted to find out what happened to me in the past when I was Hao's wife."

"Don't believe her story! She was Hao's wife not you. You are Anna Kyouyama, you are my daughter."

"But I had dreams. I saw what happened to her, to me in the past." Anna felt her head's about to split open. "Why would she tell me that I'm her if I'm not?"

"She used you as much as she had used me," tears began to flow down the woman's cheeks.

Anna felt something tag at her heart. She could feel the blond lady's pain. She knelt down by Ayako and placed her hand on her left shoulder. "What happened to you? Why are you here?"

"I thought Anya was my friend." Ayako tried to control her tears. "I often visited her burial ground when I was young because I was eager to know where my real parents are. She claimed that she saw them when they left me in Osorezan. She was going to give me some information about them if I managed to 'find her memories first'. However, Master Kino wanted me to focus on my training as an itako master so I stopped visiting. I only came running to her again when the man I have loved dearly dumped me. I was devastated but I couldn't tell anyone about it. I told her I was pregnant. I told her you'll be born five months after Master Kino's daughter, Keiko would give birth to Hao Asakura's reincarnation. It was the latest talk of the town in the training center at that time. I can never forget her face when I told her that. She looked as if she had remembered something very important. Since I didn't want you at that time, she asked me if she could have you. She wanted to merge her soul with yours so she can live again. I was not thinking right when I said yes. I visited her a week before I gave birth to you. I had changed my mind and I'd like to tell her that I wanted to keep you. She was angry of course. She told me even if I don't give in to her wish, you would come to her because she already marked you as her own. As soon as I gave birth to you, I told Master Kino to send you away for adoption. I did it to save you. I never truly wanted us to part." Ayako broke into tears again.

Anna rubbed her mother's back to comfort her.

"I went to the Patch Village to train as a shaman partly to escape from Anya. I met a wandering spirit there by the name of Argon. He showed me a memory from which I learned how to merge souls permanently. It gave me a good idea. I decided to come back to Osorezan because I fear for your safety. I agreed to merge with her soul to appease her and to stop her from bothering you in the future. It was too late when I found out about her true intentions. The merge already took place. Fortunately, Master Kino was able to seal our merged soul thereby foiling Anya's plans."

"Your Argon is probably the same Argon that I know of. He is currently Hao's new spirit. He might have been an accomplice of Anya all along for all we know."

"Anna," Ayako gently touched her daughter's cheek. "You shouldn't be here. Anya might have tricked you into going down to this place. You can never go back up there if you stayed too long."

"Nobody wants me back out there. If staying here means being with my real mother, then I would stay…" Anna held Ayako's hand.

"Don't. You've got a life ahead of you. I don't have the luxury of it anymore…"

Anna grew quiet for a while then finally asked, "How can I go back?"

"Anya used her own memories to flood and drown yours. Use what is left of them to regain yourself."

"But the painful memories are the ones which remained."

"It's what she intended to do in the first place. Find it in your heart," Ayako touched her daughter's left chest with her pointing finger. "That one true memory you have cherished and kept within you. That memory you will never ever forget."

There was a loud thunder-like sound that came from the darkness above. It was followed by a heavy shaking of the ground. Some of the mirrors came crashing down which they had managed to avoid.

"What was the reason for Anya's existence all these years anyway?" Anna shouted to her mother amidst the noise of the rumbling ground and shattering glass.

"She wanted to kill the reincarnated Hao and destroy his soul to cease his re-birth process."

"But she didn't know his soul was split into two not until now…" Anna gasped. "She's going to kill Yoh, too!"


	18. Forgotten Memories

Everybody jumped up from his seat upon hearing Faust's frantic scream from the inn's clinic. Yoh and his friends immediately rushed to the doctor's post. They were shocked to see him being clobbered by the vacant-looking itako trainees who had finally woken up. Manta spotted Suzume leading the group. She had the nastiest smile of them all.

"Girls, what's the meaning of this?" Old Kino shouted to them but her bewildered yells were muffled by the blows that went to the blond medical man's body.

"This is a bit complicated. We can't use our powers on them unless we want them dead," Ren said amidst the mob of trainees who began beating them also.

"I think I can do something about this. Lyserg, the faucet!" Horo Horo called out to the English shaman.

Lyserg pushed away the trainees from him and threw his crystal pendulum that was Morphine at the faucet of the clinic's sink. As soon as it was turned on, Horo Horo summoned Kororo who showered herself in the flowing water. Then the Koro Pokkuru spirit danced and twirled in the air sprinkling each trainee and freezing her on the spot. Ren, Ryuu and Yoh ran towards the fallen doctor while Horo Horo took care of the mob. Faust was already blue and black from the constant beating.

The room eventually grew quiet which meant that Horo Horo was successful at taming the itako trainees who went amok.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the new technique you saw was called ice dance. It's the fruit of my vigorous training these past few days." Horo Horo proudly gave a thumb up to Kororo.

"Are you sure you did not kill them?" Chocolove peered at one trainee who was frozen as an ice statue.

"Of course not. Ice dance is just a defensive technique which I designed to momentarily delay the enemy. It will soon wear off."

"We need to lock them up if that's the case," Lyserg said.

"Faust looks bad!" Ryuu motioned them to come near.

"We need a doctor quick!" Chocolove didn't realize the irony of what he just said.

Jeanne hurriedly made her way through the group assembling around the beaten doctor. She went down to her knees and placed her palm over Faust's bruises. "I'll try to heal him," she told everyone. Her palm emitted a white light over the purple mark.

"Your powers are back!" Tamao exclaimed.

Jeanne smiled, "I've regained my healing powers although they are not as potent as before."

Ren wanted to tap her shoulder to congratulate her but Lyserg approached the girl first, "Our training had finally paid off, Mistress Jeanne. Good work!"

Their celebration of triumph was cut short by the sound of ice breaking. Everyone's head turned in alarm towards the noise.

"Your new technique seemed to wear off easily," Ren criticized Horo Horo.

"Well, I haven't perfected it yet," the blue-haired shaman scratched his head in embarrassment.

Suzume's shattered ice laid in pieces on the floor. Her eyes were like a bottomless pitt when she called out in a deep voice, "Yoh Asakura, I want you to come to the heart of the forest where I had left and found your unconscious fiancée."

The gang was all in fighting stance while the ice on the rest of the trainees started to crack, too.

"Come fast or Anna Kyouyama would have the same fate as the mad doctor," warned Suzume. Then she fainted all of a sudden. The other trainees passed out one by one as well.

* * *

Everything went still as the rumbling stopped for awhile. The fallen and broken glass mirrors on the ground were a depressing site to behold. Anna couldn't leave her mother in this dark lonely place.

"I need to go back mother," the young itako held Ayako's left hand tightly, "but I want you to come with me."

Anna's mom pulled her hand away and instead stroked her daughter's cheek. "I can't as much as I want to, I'm tied to her. We are of one soul." There was hopelessness in Ayako's eyes.

"Is there any way to unmerge you from her?"

"She didn't share with me that particular memory."

Anna's hope of saving her mother was already faltering when she noticed a large broken piece of glass that fell from above. It showed one of her and Yoh's leisure moments - their picnic at the park. She was going to pick it up but the shattered glass immediately sank down and disappeared.

Then something just lit up from the back of her mind. "You said she flooded my memories with hers. Those mirrors above, I think they contain my memories."

"They also contain Anya's."

"But where are yours?"

"They once floated above with Anya's but came crashing down as she dominated over me. Yours will be the same if you don't go up there at once."

Anna thought for a while. "I don't think I would forget my memories even if my mirrors shatter. Don't you find it odd that you remembered your own life?"

Ayako pondered on her daughter's words.

"The memories above are those that she only wanted to remember. Because my memories and yours were of no interest to her, she's pushing them further down. However, it doesn't mean that they would completely disappear. I think she's just hiding them deep down in the recesses of her subconscious. Mother, you are a part of Anya's soul now. I do think you have the ability to control it also."

"I don't know. I never tried it before," Ayako admitted.

"It's because you were afraid of her. Mother, she maybe the master of your merged soul up there but you can be the master down here. Please? There's no harm in trying."

Ayako finally nodded and started to concentrate. The ground began to shake violently but instead of the mirrors falling down from above, the broken pieces of the ones which sank below shot upward from the ground and fixed themselves in such a way that they formed a glass stairway.

* * *

Jeanne, Tamao, Mikihisa and Yohmei stayed behind to take care of the fainted trainees while Yoh and the rest immediately ran to the meeting place. The rain had just stopped pouring. Yoh scurried like a hungry lion after its prey leaving no time for the gang to rest. Poor Manta was panting heavily when Ryuu scooped him up and carried him like a ragged doll. There was no stopping until they spotted the smirking Hao sitting on a boulder. Standing still next to him were Anna and Argon. Old Kino felt nostalgic upon seeing the broken stone slab behind them.

"Hao! Yoh yelled out his twin brother's name with spite.

"Well hello little brother. It's nice to have you around for tonight. Your fiancée seemed to have run bitterly away from home when I found her. Are you having domestic issues?" Hao taunted him.

Yoh furiously flashed towards his evil twin with his sword but failed to strike when Anna unexpectedly appeared in front of Hao.

"Anna…" Yoh whispered shocked. "What are you doing?"

Hao stood up from the boulder and approached Anna. "Isn't she lovely? She's just being devoted to her husband that's all." The blond girl did not react when he trailed several kisses on her neck. This made Yoh fume with rage.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

"Why shouldn't I? She was my wife of long ago. I can do whatever I want with her. I can order her around as much as I want." Hao whispered audibly into the itako's ear, "My dear Anna, will you kill your ex-fiancée for me, please?" Hao chuckled.

Anna formed a sword with her furyoku and walked towards Yoh who was slowly backing away.

"This will be very interesting," Hao smirked as he watched the show unfold.

"Don't forget that I'm here!" Ren shouted from above. He landed near the long-haired shaman to strike him with his kwan dao. However, Argon came to his master's rescue and blocked Ren's attack with a big shield.

Ren jumped away and glared at the Patch spirit who closed his eyes and concentrated. The Tao did not notice Ryuu's face change to a blank expression as he raised his wooden sword to strike Chocolove who was near him. It was too late when they heard the Afro-American's scream of pain.

"What are you doing man?" Chocolove was shocked when he received a heavy blow in the left shoulder from Ryuu.

Ryuu did not answer but called out his Over Soul instead. The very big Yamata no Orochi materialized in front of them. Each head started attacking Yoh's friends.

Yoh peered behind to check on his buddies but he was slashed in the arm by Anna's sword when he wasn't looking.

"Tsk tsk tsk. You should never look away from your enemy, little brother," Hao continued to mock him.

"Anna, please don't do this. It's me, Yoh. I came to get you back." Yoh tried to talk to her but she kept on swinging her sword at him. The young Asakura couldn't do anything but to block her attacks. "Don't let her control you!"

"I believe you used the wrong word little brother. Argon is a "he" if your puny brain hasn't noticed until now," Hao sneered at him.

Yoh glanced towards Hao's spirit who was showing signs of exhaustion. His thoughts began to race. _No, Argon is not controlling her. I'm sure of it. He's busy manipulating Ryuu's oversoul right now. He can't possibly control another person not when he's furyoku is being directed on a powerful shaman. Could it be that Hao did not know about his past wife's possession of Anna?_

Yoh's musings got the better of him since the itako was able to find an open spot. She determinedly slashed his chest with his sword. The young Asakura fell to the ground hurt. Blood came spurting out of his large wound.

"Yoh!" everybody shouted to him and tried to come to his aid but Yamata no Orochi had already wrapped them in his coils. Old Kino who was staying away from the battle ground rushed to her grandson.

Hao walked towards Anna and looked down at his fallen twin. "Revenge is really sweet don't you think little brother? Especially if the one person you cherished had caused you immense pain." Hao laughed his heart out and repeatedly stomped on Yoh's back. Old Kino grabbed the evil shaman's leg to stop him from hurting her grandson but Hao kicked her away.

"Don't hurt my grandmother," Yoh gasped for air as he spoke out the words.

"Is that a threat I hear little brother?" Hao grabbed his twin's hair. "It sounded more like a plea than a threat to me." He then shoved Yoh's face into the mud as he laughed his heart out. Discontented still, he stood up and began stomping his twin's back again.

As the long-haired shaman made his little brother suffer, Anna's blank eyes turned into a killer glare and without warning, she slashed him across the back. Hao's white cloak was smeared with red blood as he fell down to the ground next to Yoh.

The itako bent down and whispered on Hao's ear, "You've exacted your revenge but mine has just started."

* * *

Ayako started to climb up the glass stairway which mostly reflected different scenes and stages of her life. Anna climbed after her but her feet just went through the ghostly glass steps. Ayako was almost 20 steps away from the bottom when she noticed that her daughter hadn't followed her.

"What's the matter Anna?" she called out.

"Mother, I think it can only accommodate you because these are the memories of your life."

"But you were a part of it," Ayako beckoned her to try again but Anna's feet just went through.

"Perhaps I represent a miniscule part of it because we have not shared it for too long." Despair was beginning to fill Anna's heart. She might not be able to get out of this place after all.

"Then I won't come up there without you," Ayako began climbing down but she was yelled at by her daughter.

"Don't come down!" Tears brimmed on Anna's eyes. "You are the only person who can help Yoh. If you stay down here who knows what Anya would do to him. I will be fine. I can take care of myself. You said I should find in my heart that one memory which would bring me up there. I'm going to search for it first. I promise it won't take long." Anna brushed away her tears and smiled at her mother.

"I'll try to look for help as soon as I gained control of her," Ayako reluctantly turned her back on her daughter. She breathed deeply and ran speedily upstairs. Each glass step disappeared one by one as soon as she finished treading on it.

When she reached the top, the stairway had completely vanished. There was a life size mirror at the end of the last step. Ayako peered at the darkness below her. It's either she go through the mirror or go back again. Apparently, there's only one better option. _I won't let you down again my daughter._ She pushed herself hard into the mirror and felt herself going through it slowly.

* * *

Yoh and Hao were sprawled bleeding on the ground. Hao raised his head to get a better glimpse of the itako's wicked smile. "Who are you?"

"Have you forgotten your wife's name, Hao?"

The long-haired shaman tried to recall his conversations with Argon. "You're Anya… You're name is Anya.."

"Pretty decent for you to remember," the Patch spirit materialized by Anya's side. He was successful at entangling each of Yoh's friends in the coils of Yamata no Orochi. Ryuu stood stolid like a sentinel beside his humongous Over Soul.

"You set me all up did you?" Hao managed to chuckle a bit. "And I thought I was the most scheming shaman that ever lived."

"Why are you doing this? We do not belong to the Patch tribe who had caused you great misfortune." Old Kino asked boldly. After being kicked aside literally by her supposedly other grandson, she had managed to crawl towards a nearby tree on which she could lean to rest.

"Oh, I remember you, woman," Anya sized her up from head to toe. "You looked older and weaker than before. I still haven't forgiven you for sealing me away. That was a good idea you've given me though. I haven't taken my revenge on that wretched tribe who tried to impose death penalty on me. Perhaps I'll do it after I send the soul of Hao Asakura to hell so that he won't be reincarnated again."

"So you've existed for centuries just to exact revenge on your husband? We've got some serious relationship issues here," Chocolove shouted between the loop formed by one of Yamata no Orochi's heads.

"Yes, you pitiful young boy. I've waited all these years to get my hands on this wicked man's soul." Anya stomped on Hao's back. "Since I do not have the capability to be reincarnated at my own will, I asked Argon here to take my memories away. With no past memories to surrender to the god of Death I had lost my candidacy for reincarnation. I was allowed to linger on this earth for more than 500 years waiting too long for our paths to cross again. Tonight I will be able to complete my unfinished business here on earth."

"You are a traitor Argon!" Hao addressed his former partner spirit between gritted teeth.

"It was because of fate that we met Hao Asakura. You've caused so much pain and suffering in your previous life. Your past is haunting you now," Argon told him firmly.

"You are no better than Hao, Anya," Yoh mumbled as he tried to push himself up from the ground. "In your angry quest for revenge you have destroyed the life of another person. I won't forgive you for taking away Anna's mom from her. I won't forgive you for taking Anna away from me!"

"Is this boy's soul really a part of you Hao? He is such a weakling!" Anya laughed hard. "I missed using this favorite technique of mine. It would be easier if you joined together as one soul." She placed each of her hand over Hao and Yoh's head. She made upward and downward movements as if trying to pull something from them. Everybody was shocked to see a light ball coming out of each of the Asakura twin's mouth. Yoh's was the color white while Hao's was black. The soul merging process had commenced!

Anya laughed hysterically as the two balls of light span around each other until they combined to form a larger ball of black light. However, the merge did not last long. The balls of light broke into two again and went rushing back into the unconscious Asakura twins' mouths.

Anya shrieked in rage and held her head. "Stupid woman, go back to your own realm!"

"Stop this Anya! Let them be. The Hao whom you have known long ago is already dead." Ayako was taking over her.

After a minute of what appeared to be an inner battle within Anna's body, the itako drooped her head and had finally calmed down. Had they not known Anna was being possessed, Yoh's friends would think of her as a deranged lunatic. Argon floated towards the itako and whispered Anya's name several times.

The possessed Anna slowly raised her head to face them. There was a different aura about her. "It's been a long time, Argon, Master Kino."

"Ayako…" a stream of tears flowed down Old Kino's cheeks.

"Where is Anya?" Argon was enraged.

"I managed to subdue her for a while. After all, I and Anya are of one soul, Argon. One can completely reign over the other if one wishes. Isn't this what you taught me?" Ayako returned his angry remark. "Anya had suffered enough because of the fury you had helped her fuel in her heart. Let her rest."

"Since things have turned out like this," Argon closed his eyes and began to chant. Ayako screamed in pain as Anna's body gave out a blinding light. She felt like she was slowly being pulled out of her daughter's frail body. When the spell was done, the young itako laid unconscious next to the Asakura twins. Everyone was staring in awe at Ayako's revealed spirit.

 _She does look a lot like Anna._ Manta thought as he remained entangled by Ryuu's oversoul.

Old Kino hurried to give her student a hug but her hands went through Ayako's body. She forgot that she was already dead.

"What did you do?" Ayako looked dumbfounded at the recent turnout of events.

"I had to unmerge you from Anya so you would stop controlling her soul. There's always a counter technique which I had tried to learn when I drew out Anya's memories. Isn't it what you wanted?" Argon sneered at her.

"But my daughter is still trapped down there in Anya's realm!" Ayako protested in tears. "I need to get her out."

"Only Anya has the capability of releasing this girl's trapped soul if she would dispossess her body," Argon smirked. "But I guess she won't until she fulfills her plan."

Yoh who regained his consciousness and witnessed the whole thing called out for his grandmother. Old Kino immediately rushed to his side and helped him get up. So much blood had already been lost. Yoh mumbled weakly, "You're the most brilliant itako that ever lived Grandma. Help me enter her body temporarily. I will get her back."

Old Kino scolded him. "Do you want me to kill you? I can not pull you out of your physical body unless you're dead!"

"Do it grandma. Trust me!" Yoh said firmly.

"Are you stupid Yoh Asakura?" Argon yelled at him irritably. "Why would you risk your life just to save a girl who had stopped appreciating hers? She had succumbed to her own depression that's why she was easily taken over by a resentful spirit. She was responsible for all the suffering that you're experiencing right now!"

Yoh gave him his signature grin, "My reason is the same as yours…"

Argon was taken aback.

"You wanted to help Anya to ease her of her pain so you agreed to take part on her vengeful plans even if it means hurting you in return. You liked her a lot don't you?" the young Asakura tried to confirm the Patch spirit's feelings.

"How did you know?" Argon asked softly.

"It's because I am in love with my Anna as much as you were in love with your Anya."


	19. Farewell

Anna walked back and forth desperately trying to recall each and every one of her happy memories. Minutes passed and she was starting to feel hopeless when still no glass stairway materialized despite the constant flow of sweet and pleasing recollections in her mind. The previous one evaporated as soon as her mother was able to reach the top.

_Did she make it?_

Anna was too anxious about Ayako's safety.

_What if she didn't gain control of Anya?_

All her hopes were dissipating already when she spotted a fainted brown-skinned woman falling from the darkness above. The young itako managed to put on a smile. Her mother was successful after all.

Anna peered at Anya who remained unconscious as she landed on the soft ground. She couldn't understand why a beautiful woman could become so cold-hearted. Anna was too engrossed in admiring her gentle features when Anya suddenly shot her eyes open and grabbed the blond girl's neck.

"You have been messing with my plans, Anna Kyouyama!"

The young itako tried to pull Anya's hands away from her neck but the angry woman pressed on it more tightly.

"You can never leave this place as long as I'm in control of your body. You will replace Ayako here because she had just been pulled out and she won't be coming back for you."

"That's not true. She promised to get me," Anna gulped for air as she labored to speak out.

"She did give you away when you were an infant. What makes you think she cares for you?" She added as if trying to drown her with more negativity, "Oh and by the way, your weak fiancé, Yoh Asakura is already dead."

The heartbreaking news came to her like a hundred daggers stabbing her heart repeatedly. Anna looked devastated. "No, that's a lie! That's a lie!"

"Your stupid mother was too late in overpowering me. I've already slashed him down. He no longer lives."

Anna lowered her head trying to hide her painful tears. She had almost lost Yoh in the last battle with Hao during the Shaman Tournament. It was a repeat of that horrible feeling of anguish engulfing her.

Anya let go of the blond girl's neck, stood up and watched the object of her interest slowly sunk unto her knees. The Patch woman smirked at the itako's miserable state. It was a sign of her resignation to her fate. Staying here would be a better choice than being out there without her Yoh.

Anya then spread out her arms and started whispering incoherent words. The ground shook violently while the glass mirrors containing Anna's memories floating above them shattered into a million pieces, turned to dust and rapidly dissolved into nothingness. The ones that had been previously broken and sunk flew out from the ground and joined in the rhythmic crushing of the ones above. Soon the air cleared and only Anya's mirrors were left floating.

* * *

Argon remained silent for a minute as he absorbed every word from the wounded Asakura. He couldn't quite grasp the personality of his enemy's other reincarnate. Yoh was the extreme opposite of the person he had known for years. If there was a certain level of goodness left in the Patch Hao, Yoh Asakura was a full embodiment of it. It was becoming obvious to him that he was starting to like this boy.

If spirits were capable of breathing still, a deep sigh would be heard from Argon before he declared, "This has got to stop. I need to save Anya from her 500-year-old misery."

He waved his hand at Ryuu's direction which caused the tall shaman to pass out. Yamato no Orochi freed his friends from its coils and slowly disappeared. Ren and Manta ran immediately to Yoh's side while Chocolove and Horo Horo tended Ryuu. Lyserg hurried back to the itako training center to call on Jeanne.

Yoh mouthed thank you to Argon then started to cough.

"His body is too exhausted right now. Let's use this to our advantage. He has to undergo a near-death experience so that I can pull him out of his body temporarily," Old Kino quivered.

Argon placed his hand over Yoh's head. "If it's a near death experience that you want, I'll be able to help you." His hand emitted a green light and began absorbing the boy's furyoku until he went still.

Old Kino simultaneously recited her channeling incantation but fear got the better of her. She stopped in the middle of the spell trembling. "It's not the first time that I'd be pulling a soul out of a living body. I'm afraid I might kill him, too."

Ayako placed her ghostly hand on her master's shoulder. "He's not going to die Master Kino. I had always trusted your abilities."

"I can't do this again… " Something had lit up at the back of Old Kino's head as she gazed at her student. "...but you can."

Ayako examined the old woman's frightened eyes and nodded. "Allow me then to channel my powers into your body." Old Kino closed her lids and waited for Ayako to enter her.

When the old woman opened her eyes, there was a youthful glow about her. Ayako whispered in her master's raspy voice, "Let's do this, Master Kino." Then she recited the channeling spell, grabbed Yoh's spirit ball and shoved it into her daughter's body.

Yoh woke up and found himself in a dimly lit room. In front of him was a life size mirror which showed his fiancée sulking at the center of another dark room. He tapped his hand on the cold glassy surface several times as he called out her name. When she still hadn't acknowledged his presence, he began banging his fists on the sturdy crystalline structure. He readied his right fist for a heavy punch with the intention of breaking the glass but as soon as it came in contact with the smooth surface, his fist just went through. His whole body was pushed further into the mirror as well. The next thing he knew, he was descending slowly into the darkness below him. Yoh frantically flapped his arms and pushed himself upwards but stopped defying gravity when he spotted Anna curved into a ball below. He landed with a soft thud and immediately ran to his fiancée.

"Anna! Anna! Anna!" he shook her gently by the shoulders but the young itako wouldn't budge from her current position. She was hugging her knees tightly as she rested her chin on them. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. There was a trail of dried tears on her cheeks.

"She can't hear you," a woman's voice said from behind him.

Yoh turned around to face the smirking Anya. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing. It was her choice to stay here and you're just wasting your time intruding our world, Yoh Asakura."

"I won't let you imprison her in the darkness anymore," Yoh grabbed Anna's hands and slowly pulled her up. The itako just stared at him blankly as she let him heave her. "I'm here Anna. I came to get you," he whispered to her.

However, the sweet silence did not last for long because a monstrous howl resounded from the dark. He went in front of Anna to protect her from the looming danger in the form of a huge Oni which was gradually revealing its ugly face from the shadows.

Anya laughed hard. "I woke up this girl's dormant power which she had buried with her sad and painful memories. Wouldn't it be fun to reminisce everything again?"

Yoh looked at his fiancée behind him who appeared oblivious of what's happening around her. _The last time I saw an Oni this big, Matamune was there to save us. Now it's only up to me. I'm going to protect Anna no matter what._ Yoh thought.

The Oni had completely come out of the darkness and with one big swipe it sent Yoh flying away from his fiancée. The ugly monster walked lamely towards Anna and grabbed her. The itako squirmed and tried to free herself from the monster's clutches. Yoh hurried back to them and kicked the Oni's leg several times.

"Let go of her!" he yelled furiously. The Oni grabbed him also with his other free hand and swung him around. Yoh bit its hand hard making the Oni howl in pain. It released Anna so that it could use its other hand to thump on Yoh. The itako fell hard on the ground and was a bit shaken by the sight she was witnessing.

"Stop it!" Anna finally came into her senses. "Don't hurt him." A soft rumbling on the ground turned to a chaotic whirlwind of shattered mirror pieces which showered and pierced the Oni's body. The monster dropped the already weakened Yoh and tried to block the wave of piercing glass with its arms.

"GO AWAY! You are not a part of me anymore," Anna shouted at the Oni which gave its last howl before it eventually disintegrated. The itako rushed to Yoh's side.

"Yoh, are you alright? Why are you here?" Anna held his hand gently.

"The fact that he's here means that he's dead. He can not gain access to this place if he's well attached to his physical body," Anya walked towards them.

"I wanted to save you, Anna…" Yoh completely ignored Anya's remark. "…even if it means losing my life," he weakly put on his trademark grin.

"Then both of you will be trapped down here. Why are you so determined to save this wretched girl anyway?" Anya asked him irritably.

"It's because… she is very important to me… It's because…" Yoh began to stammer, "I- I- I- lo-lo- "

Anna placed a finger on his lips to quiet him down. With eyes glistening with tears she said, "I have heard enough Yoh." Then she turned to face Anya and bowed before her. "This is the first time that I have ever pleaded to someone in my entire life but I have humbled myself before you to beg for my fiancé's freedom. Let him go and I'll stay here forever."

"No, I won't let you," Yoh tried to sit up but his fiancée pushed him down.

Anya fixed her eyes on the couple with awe. It's been 500 years since she was last filled with these inexplicable emotions. She remembered this familiar warm feeling she had towards her father, her husband, her little son, and her friend, Argon. The ice in her heart was slowly melting and as it did so, the mirrors floating above came crashing down behind them. After a few minutes of being in deep thought, she unexpectedly let out a smile, "I forgot how it is to love someone because of my resentment for my husband. I guess it's time for me to let go of these vengeful feelings." A blinding white light began to fill the room. "Perhaps it's time for me to rest in peace."

Yoh grinned sheepishly at her. "Anya, someone who loves you is waiting for you outside for more than 500 years."

"Yoh Asakura, you are his reincarnate but you have an entirely different personality." Those were Anya's last words to him before the light fully consumed her.

* * *

Jeanne who was fetched from the inn by Lyserg sweated as she tried to close Yoh's chest wound. His friends and their materialized spirits surrounded him and hoped for his recovery. Amidamaru's tears streamed down like twin waterfalls as he whispered to his human friend to wake up.

Ayako had already left her master's wrinkled body and floated beside the fainted Anna. Everybody gave her this moment to be alone with her daughter. Next to her, Argon busily tended Hao's wound after transferring back Yoh's furyoku. However, he halted his healing of him when he noticed Anna move a finger. The young itako was the first to regain consciousness among the three.

"Argon," the blond girl called out to him.

"Anya?" the Patch warrior spirit floated to her. She hadn't still left the itako's body after all.

"I'm sorry for making you suffer all these years. I have never realized how much you have loved me not until now…" Anya's spirit emerged from Anna's body which consequentially fell motionless to the ground. "However, I'm not going to linger long in the world of the living anymore. My old soul needed to be liberated and reincarnated. The god of death had been waiting for me for more than 500 years already." She held Argon's hands lovingly. "I hope one day, we'll meet again."

Then Anya floated to the passed out Hao and whispered to his ear, "I love you still and I forgive you…" Anna opened her eyes in time before Anya completely disappeared from her sight.

"My daughter…" Ayako brushed some hair strands away from her face.

"Hello mother, I'm glad that you're safe," the young itako put on a sweet smile for her. She rarely did this to other people. But her smile quickly faded when she remembered her fiancé, "How is Yoh?"

Ayako nodded her head slowly at the boy's direction. Anna saw the crowd gathered around her fiancé's unconscious body. She instantly scrambled towards him. The itako looked like she was about to cry when she saw the state he was in.

"His wounds are starting to close but he still hasn't regained consciousness," Jeanne reported to her.

"Could it be that his spirit had not returned to his body yet?" Lyserg suggested.

"Impossible… Ayako was successful in pulling his soul out of Anna's body," Old Kino strongly believed in her student's capabilities.

Anna gently slapped Yoh's cheek several times but the young Asakura didn't show any signs of movement.

"Mistress Anna, please wake him up," Amidamaru floated to her side and begged in tears.

"I will. Stop sniveling right now!" the itako scolded him. Her spiritual ability had truly returned.

Before she can even break down and cry, the young itako gave her fiancé one final hard slap with her legendary left. It was an effective way of zapping the life back to him as Yoh jerked from the ground and stroked his swollen cheek.

"Anna, what did I do?" Yoh had a bewildered look on his face.

In spite of their friend's presence, Anna jumped on Yoh and enclosed him in a tight embrace. The moon which was almost full revealed its bright face from the clouds.

Ayako smiled happily at her daughter and her fiancé. Her whole body shimmered in the moonlight. It was time for her to leave, too. Old Kino looked at her with eyes brimming with tears.

"Mother, thank you for taking care of my daughter." Ayako bowed at her master gratefully.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to Anna first?" Yoh's grandma beckoned her to come near her daughter who was busily hugging Yoh.

"She's used to not having me around. I'm certain she'll live a happy life even without me." Ayako waved goodbye at Yoh who caught a glimpse of her slowly fading away.

"Please take care of her, Yoh Asakura."

* * *

**The next morning...**

Yoh held two large vases of flowers as he carefully trudged on the pathway to Anya's and Ayako's headstones. Anna was trailing behind him with an air of command. When they reached the place, they were surprised to see two bouquets of wild flowers laid before the broken stone slab with each half having been engraved with the departed women's names. Below them were one-liner eulogies. The couple knelt in front of each headstone and prayed. When they were about to stand up, Anna noticed a miniscule message engraved below Anya's eulogy. Yoh dismissed it as the working of one of the trainees from the inn although he had this knowing look on his face.

It was only a quick visit to the burial site since the gang had to return to Funbari today. The summer vacation was already nearing its end. They left the burial ground feeling enlightened.

Anna was the one who broke the silence as they walked back to the Asakura inn where the gang was patiently waiting for them.

"There had been a heated debate among your friends if Hao was really capable of loving a wife." The long-haired shaman had discreetly vanished into the night when they were rejoicing over Yoh's recovery. Nobody heard or saw him leave.

Yoh marveled at the clear blue sky above them as he rested his head on his folded arms. It was a sign that he was thinking. "My stand is… yes, he is capable."

"Oh?" Anna raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think so?"

Yoh walked a few steps away and stopped in front of her. Anna noticed his knees were shaking involuntarily. He gulped down several times for air before he mumbled, "Because when his soul was split and reincarnated into two new beings… the other half of him was capable of loving you."

Redness crept into Yoh's cheeks as he took her hand, turned around and started to walk again. The blushing Anna was gently dragged onto his side. An awkward silence filled the forest with the occasional cries of ravens and crows.

"Anna," Yoh cleared his throat. "How about you? What's your opinion?"

The itako remembered the other two bouquets offered in front of the headstones as well as the miniscule engravings. "Yes, he is capable."

Yoh was surprised at her answer knowing her extreme dislike of his twin brother. "Why do you think so?"

"Because…" The itako yanked her fiancé to a halt. "I believed his other half when he told me that he loves me." Yoh trembled when she pulled his chin closer to her. He can smell the sweetness of her breath.

"When I was trapped in Anya's realm, I couldn't think of any happy recollection good enough to help me get out of that place… It's because you are my happiest memory, Yoh. I couldn't single out a specific instance with you that I can consider the most unforgettable."

Yoh inhaled deeply and gathered enough courage in the process. _This is it. I need to tell her now._ However, all the words came out in a stutter, "Anna, I-I lo-lo—"

The blonde placed a finger on his lips. "I know…" The she whispered before kissing him softly. "I love you, too…"

Yoh was elated as they shared their first kiss.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Chocolove was stomping his feet. "And why are you two so red all over the face?"

Yoh scratched his head and grinned at everyone who had waited by the inn's entrance. "Sorry guys… We ermm… ahhh…. We… we…"

"We had to say goodbye to my mother. I hadn't had a proper talk with her last night when she left." Anna said in a serious tone.

"That explains it." Horo Horo looked convinced then his gaze fell upon Yoh and Anna's entwined hands. "I didn't know you are comfortable holding each other's hands while walking," the blue-haired shaman teased.

The couple broke their grip at once and began blushing furiously. The teases were momentarily cut when Jeanne held out her hand to Yoh who shook it. "I guess this is goodbye for now, Yoh Asakura."

She and Lyserg will be staying for a few weeks more in the inn to continue their training. Argon materialized beside Jeanne to bid the gang farewell. The Patch warrior spirit had decided to linger on the world of the living much longer. The lovely girl offered him to be her new partner spirit which he gladly accepted. He believed that he had to atone for his sins and he could do this by healing people through the help of his new master.

Ren pointed his kwan dao threateningly at Argon. "If you ever hurt Jeanne, I won't hesitate sending you to the after life."

"Don't worry. I can do it on your behalf." Lyserg presented his hand to the Tao heir who seized and squeezed it hard."

Lyserg glared at Ren as he shook away the pain. Their attention shifted to Manta when he approached the young apprentice, Suzume. "It was nice meeting you," the little guy bowed at her. "I hope you could come visit us at Funbari. I got a lot of books in my house which I could share with you."

Ryuu clasped his hands and danced around, "Oh our little Manta is growing up! He has a crush now!"

"Will you stop acting foolishly, Ryuu?" the boy felt embarrassed.

"Of course, I will pay you a visit sometime," Suzume smiled at the blushing Manta.

"Really?" The little man could feel like stretching his arms and leaping into the air.

Suzume nodded then beckoned the other trainees to approach Faust one by one. Each of them handed him a single flower which the doctor gladly accepted. Despite having a sling supporting his broken arm, he was all smiles for the girls. The trainees bowed at him and said in unison, "Thank you Dr. Faust! Please don't be afraid to come back here again."

While everyone laughed and clapped his hands for the little girls, Old Kino tapped Anna on the shoulder. "I think this should belong to you." The old woman gave her the old class photograph of her mother as a young girl which Manta had found in the repository.

"I do look like her," Anna wiped the dust away with her finger as she stroked her mother's picture.

Her master looked down at her feet in embarrassment, "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"It's alright Master Kino. I forgive you," Anna gently squeezed her wrinkled hand. "The next time I'm here, please tell me more about her."

Yohmei grinned at the heartwarming scene. He cleared his throat and announced happily, "I've phoned Izumo earlier this morning and told them that Anna had already regained her powers." Yohmei tapped the young itako at the shoulder, "My grand daughter, you are and will always be the heir's future wife." Everyone cheered. Anna appreciatively bowed in gratitude at the old man.

Yoh smiled lovingly at his family. "We're going now. We'll visit you as soon as possible," he waved his final goodbye to his old folks, to his father, to Tamao, Lyserg and Jeanne as well as to the itako trainees who watched them all leave.

Anna looked back at the inn when they were already meters away to have a last glimpse of the place which she had considered home. The rickety training center would eternally stand as a concrete reminder of her mother and of her childhood. She would miss every peeling paint, every shuttered window and every loose floor boarding which kept decades' worth of trainee secrets. She was busily savoring her memories of the inn when she spotted the silhouette of a long-haired shaman watching them from behind the trees. He retreated and disappeared into the shadows as soon as he noticed her looking at him.

Anna was certain this won't be the last time that they would see him. She smiled pleasantly to herself. She would forever dearly remember the words engraved on her mother's and Anya's headstones.

##  _**Ayako Asakura** _

####  _Your memories will never be forgotten._

##  _**Anya Asakura** _

####  _Love is a meeting, a separation._

_I'm sorry and I love you, too._

**Author's Note:**

> This story first appeared in Fanfiction.net


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